Pro-China narrative

The fact that the two ancient civilizations of Iran and China are deepening their political and economic ties is good news for the entire region. The fact that both face hegemonic oppression from Washington will in no way diminish their will to cooperate. In fact, it was the overcoming of US interference and sabotage that triggered many recent achievements in Sino-Iranian cooperation. Raisi's trip is a clear sign that a new multipolar order will continue to take shape.

Anti-China narrative

Tehran and Beijing's official statements cannot hide the fact that, in reality, their mutual ties still have issues. Tehran is upset that it has yet to reap the expected economic benefits from its pivot to China. Meanwhile, Beijing recently snubbed Tehran by tilting closer to one of its chief adversaries, Saudi Arabia. China and Iran's growing tensions with Washington are simply insufficient as a basis for putting their economic and political relations on a solid footing.

Nerd narrative

There's a 47% chance that Iran will possess a nuclear weapon before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

Up until this month, Americans were led to believe that their homeland was safe from any and all threats, both foreign and domestic. Though the only object known to have been for espionage purposes was the first Chinese balloon, the others were necessarily shot down as they were potential flight hazards. The US government must continue to monitor its airspace thoroughly to ensure the safety of its skies.

Establishment-critical narrative

Beginning with vague talk of UFOs in 2017, the US government has been ramping up fear tactics to call for more militarism. Without even providing a clear explanation of what they are, many politicians are already using these incidents to call for sanctions against China and increased military spending. While you can't count on the US government to explain what's floating in the air, you can always count on it to instill fear in the American people to ultimately fund the military-industrial complex.

Cynical narrative

This whole story is an overreaction by the media. Whether you believe the balloon was a spying tool for China or it was just an off-course weather balloon, it certainly didn’t deserve the attention it received. Either the networks decided they needed to gin up ratings with scare tactics, and/or government representatives on both sides were feeding the frenzy to quash a US-China détente on purpose. This topic is taking the oxygen from more important stories.

Nerd narrative

There's a 9% chance there will be active warfare between the US and China before 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Democratic narrative

If Pence challenges the subpoena, he’ll fall flat on his face. According to case law, speech-or-debate protections extend only to legislative acts, and Pence unequivocally stated his Senate role was ministerial and largely ceremonial. He’s just trying to stay in Trump’s good graces by appearing to fight the investigation.

Republican narrative

There's no doubt that Pence is right to take this path to fight the DOJ's subpoena as the vice president indeed constitutionally belongs to the legislative branch. By dismissing Trump's alleged pressure campaign to overturn the election, Pence made it clear that he was an officer of the Senate in his own right, not an executive official subordinated to the president.

Pro-Trump narrative

Smith is a politically-motivated prosecutor who is running an illegitimate investigation and has botched prosecutions in the past — both domestically and overseas. There’s no way anyone, let alone the former vice president, should tell Smith anything.

Nerd narrative

There's a 54% chance that Pence will be a candidate for US president in the 2024 elections, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

Russia's inability to take the Donetsk city of Bakhmut is symbolic of the wider deficiencies that will prevent it from conducting further successful offensives in Ukraine.

Pro-Russia narrative

Russian forces are continuing to make advances in Donetsk. It's only a matter of time before Moscow's forces take the city of Bakhmut and the remainder of the Donetsk region.

Nerd narrative

There is a 2% chance that Ukraine will officially recognize a former Ukrainian territory (Luhansk, Donetsk or Crimea) as independent before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Narrative A

With a never-ending list of failures, it's no wonder Sturgeon has resigned. Not only did the SNP leader make numerous mistakes concerning gender reforms, independence referendums, and relationships with local councils, but she also left Scotland with a broken healthcare system and economic pain that can no longer be solely blamed on Westminster. To top it off, Scottish police are probing a potential misuse of SNP funding by her husband. New leadership is long overdue.

Narrative B

Sturgeon certainly wasn't without faults, however, she had natural strengths as a leader and was an incredibly human and straightforward social democrat that sought to improve the disadvantaged while standing up against Westminster — qualities she continued to embody through her decision to resign once it became increasingly clear that independence wouldn't happen under her leadership.

Nerd narrative

There's a 5% chance that Scotland will leave the UK before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Left narrative

This study is a hugely positive step after the overturning of Roe v. Wade has made the prevention of unplanned pregnancies more critical than ever. Men are involved in one hundred percent of unplanned pregnancies yet face the consequences of them far less frequently than women. In a climate increasingly hostile towards abortion — even to female autonomy at all — males must take greater responsibility for the consequences of their sexual activity.

Right narrative

Channeling such time, funding, and effort into research for the development of a male contraceptive pill is a waste. Even if this new study could develop a drug that isn't plagued by the myriad of side effects seen in previous tests, low demand among men and the likelihood of a much higher rate of forgetfulness and poor administration make it unlikely to be very effective. The media needs to stop reporting on research into male contraception as if it would be some kind of pharmacological holy grail.

Establishment-critical narrative

The UK and US governments conspired in the 1960s to forcibly remove the islands' inhabitants, in a clear crime against humanity. In addition to the forced displacement, the UK has since prevented Chagossians from returning to their homes. Reparations are the first and minimum step towards righting these wrongs.

Pro-establishment narrative

Diego Garcia is strategically important to the US and UK for regional security. There have been talks over its future between Mauritius, the US, and the UK, and the official lease on the island expires in 2036. Abandoning it earlier would constitute an absolute red line for British and US security interests, as China would fill any vacuum left by a withdrawal.

Republican narrative

After spending so much time attacking Elon Musk and his businesses — particularly regarding the new Twitter CEO setting the Hunter Biden story free — Pres. Biden has now begged his billionaire nemesis to help him fulfill his administration's green energy infrastructure plans. It seems that the man who actually builds things for America is winning the war of words with Mr. Build Back Better.

Democratic narrative

As the Biden admin. and the American people look for ways to go green, their efforts have been hindered for years due to a lack of charging adapters to connect to Tesla's chargers. In order to benefit from federal funding, however, Elon Musk has finally agreed, albeit begrudgingly, to produce universal EV chargers instead of hoarding his technology for Tesla buyers only.

Nerd narrative

There's a 50% chance that at least 1.52M non-Tesla vehicles will be licensed with Tesla software by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Narrative A

This report is a grave indictment of Israel's extremely concerning cyber espionage industry. Considering that Hanan used an Israeli company connected to Israel's Ministry of Defense in his disinformation operations, there's no doubt that there was some level of collusion between him and elements of the Israeli government. The Israeli government must immediately stop companies from meddling in global politics.

Narrative B

Though there are plenty of critics of companies and groups like Hanan's and NSO, this sort of work has been used to successfully catch countless criminals and terrorists. In light of allegations of misuse, Israel has worked to mitigate this by cutting off access to users who abuse the technology. Tel Aviv has safeguards in place.

Republican narrative

Fauci, and others who received requests to testify before the committees, have avoided facing the music long enough. They successfully ignored a Dec. 13, 2022 request, but now that Republicans are in charge it’s time to follow up on previous reports of tax dollars funding the Wuhan lab and the possibility that COVID was either an accidental lab leak or even a PRC bioweapon. If those asked to speak have information to the contrary, they are welcome to and should present it to Congress.

Democratic narrative

Any legitimate investigation into the origins of and response to the COVID pandemic has to start with a committee of astute inquisitors. What the GOP has provided, however, is a committee full of conspiracy theorists and unserious radicals that are unlikely to conduct this probe without politicizing it. If those investigating are the same people pushing dangerous medical disinformation, the committee's findings will end up as just another polarizing kangaroo court for one side of the aisle.