APPLE BOWS TO CHINESE GOVERNMENT, removes 25,000 apps from App Store.

EVERYTHING IS PROBLEMATICAL: We’re rich enough to be picky about our food, and that’s wrong.

MICHAEL WALSH: The Oxpeckers, the Rhinos and the Tyranny of the Eternal Now.

Read the whole thing.

IT’S GREAT AGAIN: What Truckers & Railroads Just Said about the US Economy.

The transportation sector is a reflection of the goods-based economy in the US. Demand has been blistering across all modes of transportation. Freight shipment volume (not pricing… we’ll get to pricing in a moment) by truck, rail, air, and barge, according to the Cass Freight Index jumped 10.6% in July compared to a year earlier. This pushed the index, which is not seasonally adjusted, to its highest level for July since 2007.

The dynamics in the transportation sector are “clearly signaling that the US economy, at least for now, is ignoring all of the angst coming out of Washington D.C. about the trade wars,” the report by Cass said.

Plus, ripple effects: “Trucking companies are responding to the capacity squeeze: In July, their orders for Class 8 trucks soared 187% from a year ago, to 52,250 units, the highest number of monthly orders ever.”

I’LL DRINK TO THAT: My colleague Michelle Minton looks at the coverage surrounding a single Lancet study and concludes the science reporters got it wrong – moderate alcohol consumption isn’t dangerous.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, HOSTILE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT EDITION: Brown University is working to help its male students “unlearn” and “unpack” their masculinity.

OUCH: Kevin Spacey’s ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ Earns Abysmal $126 on Opening Day.

You’d think that with Spacey starring, they’d have at least changed the title.

POWER GAMES: The Compulsory Society. Kevin Williamson: “Why compel Jack Phillips to knuckle under? Because you can, and because you hate him. Hate is an inescapable part of tribalism, and hate is now the single most important organizing principle of the American Left.”

CHANGE: Year-over-year we saw a 400% increase in the number of African-American owned small businesses.

The GOP ought to make an ongoing, public effort to recruit these entrepreneurs, but we’ll see.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Researchers ask: ‘Can there be capitalism without racism?’

A better question is “can there be academia without racism?”

AT AMAZON, Today’s Kindle Deals.

Plus, Hot New Releases, Updated Every Hour.

And, save Big on Clearances, Overstocks, and Markdowns at the Amazon Outlet Store.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: The Brennan Pageant Continues and Much, Much More. “John Brennan, former CIA Director and cable news sweetheart, dominated the Sunday spin show chatter after President Trump yanked his security clearance last week. Just to recap, Brennan most likely orchestrated the entire fake RUSSIA collusion operation which publicly kicked-off when he told Twitter personality James Comey to brief Trump on the salacious and unverified dossier and then leaked the briefing to his media pals.”

GLOBEMASTER FROM ABOVE: A photo of a C-17 above the clouds — the photographer was aboard a KC-135 tanker that had just refueled the transport.

AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR: A Milestone in Afghanistan. “Sometime late next year, possibly as early as September, news crews will gather in Afghanistan for a unique event: To interview an American serviceman or woman who was not born when the war they are fighting began.”

Good grief.

NOT LIVING UP TO THE HYPE: In Mueller memo, Papadopoulos emerges as bit player in Trump-Russia affair.

Since the surprise announcement of his indictment and guilty plea on Oct. 30, 2017, the short-term, volunteer Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos has often been described as a central figure in the Trump-Russia affair. Now, a new court filing from special counsel Robert Mueller suggests Papadopoulos was a bit player all along.

Mueller never charged Papadopoulos with any crime involving a conspiracy, or collusion, between the Trump campaign and Russia to fix the 2016 election. Instead, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 7.

In preparation, Mueller’s office on Friday submitted a memorandum to U.S. District Court in Washington outlining the special counsel’s position on sentencing. Although Mueller is adamant that Papadopoulos serve some time in jail — the range for the offense is between zero and six months — the special counsel suggested the final sentence should be just 30 days. As justification, Mueller cited the 30-day sentence given to Alex van der Zwaan, one of the small-time figures caught up in the Trump-Russia probe.

It wasn’t the stuff of a “conspiracy against the United States” that Mueller cheerleaders like to cite, nor even of a significant player in the Trump-Russia matter.

Underwhelming.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

● Shot:

My prayer and hope is that Gabby and all who were injured will be made whole.  My condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones.  Once all the facts are known, appropriate authorities should see to it that her attacker is brought to justice swiftly.  All persons in America should call for our society to teach tolerance, love, and civility,” said Hastings.

—[Alcee] Hastings: Statement on Shooting Involving Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, January 8, 2011.

● Chaser: Dem Rep. Alcee Hastings: It Would Be A ‘Catastrophe’ If Trump Were Drowning And ‘Anybody Saves His Ass.’

— The Daily Caller, yesterday.

I SUSPECT THERE’S A VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IRAN SAYS AND WHAT OPEC WILL DO: Iran says no OPEC member can take over its share of oil exports.

WELL, THAT’S TRUE OF SO MANY STORIES: The Real E-Scooters Story Is Much More Boring Than Media Coverage Suggests. “What if venture capital-backed firms dumped thousands of private scooters in American cities and … it mostly worked out okay?”

TREATING THE SYMPTOMS: Maduro orders 96 percent devaluation in hyperinflation-stricken Venezuela.

In one of the biggest economic overhauls of Maduro’s five-year government, the former bus driver and union leader also said he would hike the minimum wage by over 3,000 percent, boost the corporate tax rate, and increase highly-subsidized gas prices in coming weeks.

“I want the country to recover and I have the formula. Trust me,” Maduro said in a nighttime speech broadcast on state television.

But economists expressed doubts that Venezuela’s cash-strapped government, which faces U.S. sanctions and has defaulted on its bondholders, would succeed.

If Maduro truly wants to overhaul the economy, he needs to start firing cronies and repealing laws and returning and restoring private property — and then exile himself.

Anything less is just Atlas Shrugged in action.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Pulling Their Clearances Is Only the Start – It’s Time to Stamp out Elite Privilege. “If we had a real media and not the world’s most pompous Democrat transcription service, the CIA’s blown Chinese spy ring disaster would be front page news but hey, Omarosa! In any case, the only consulting anyone should do with the members of this class of unmitigated failures whose incompetence brought us 9/11, Iraq, Libya, ISIS, and a future where we would all be wise to learn Mandarin, is to ask their opinion and then do the opposite – Costanza style. Let’s look at our elite’s track record of success. Don’t worry – it won’t take long.”

SINO-RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russia Offers 2.5 Million Acres Of Farmland To China, Amid Worsening Trade War.

Earlier this week, Russia offered to bail out China from the trade war with Washington. Moscow offered 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of arable land available to Chinese farmers to meet its large-scale demand for soybeans — and of course, prevent a massive soybean shortage that would lead to political/social upheavals across the country.

Nevertheless, some analyst and experts are skeptical about the quality of the plots available. As reported by South China Morning Post, several Chinese investment firms have shown a keen interest in solidifying an agreement with Moscow.

Valery Dubrovskiy, director of investment for the Far East Investment and Export Agency, a non-profit organization, said on Tuesday that Chinese, Russian, and other surrounding countries have already expressed tremendous interest in the farmland. “We expect most of the investment to come from China,” he said. “We expect 50 percent from China, 25 percent from Russia and 25 percent from other countries, like Japan and Korea.”

Dubrovskiy said that all of the 3 million hectares of farmland in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District is now available to farmers, adding that the region could become a hotspot for dairy farming or the growing of crops, such as soybeans, wheat, and potatoes.

Given historial Chinese claims to the area and Russia’s declining population, Moscow might be inviting in a houseguest they can’t make leave.

Flashback: Will China Colonize and Incorporate Siberia?

A floating population of tens of thousands Chinese traders and seasonal workers continually moves back and forth across the border, one of the longest in the world. The immigrants settle not only in border areas but increasingly deeper into Russian territory, and some backlash is imminent. These developments raise several questions for Russia as to the migration’s impact, China’s long-term plans for Siberia, and potential Chinese dominance in the region. And yet, diplomatic relations between China and Russia have never been better. China and Russia enjoy mutual cooperation in the spheres of defense, technology, energy and bilateral trade. Why would China take any steps which would destroy such mutually rewarding relations?

Today it wouldn’t make much sense for China to make such a bold move. Tomorrow might be different.

SORRY, BUT ALL THE BEST PEOPLE TOLD ME THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE: Michael Walsh: Trump is proving America’s power through economic warfare.

With the most recent jobs reports to back him up — the president boasted Friday about 400,000 new manufacturing jobs since he took office — Trump has decided that the benefits outweigh the risks. He has history on his side. Tariffs were once a staple of our domestic and foreign policy, employed judicially by Washington, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt. “The tariff makes manufactures profitable,” wrote TR in his 1902 State of the Union message.

Tariffs and fiscal and monetary policies can have diplomatic uses, too — and today, with the American economy booming, the Trump administration is finally swinging the big stick of tariffs and sanctions as a non-lethal substitute for diplomatic or even military action.

Well, stay tuned.

HMM: Afghan President Offers Taliban Conditional Three-Month Cease-Fire.

Mr. Ghani said government forces would observe a truce in fighting with the Taliban to coincide with the start on Monday of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and continue it through the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on Nov. 19 if the insurgents reciprocated.

Mr. Ghani’s announcement, during a televised speech marking Afghanistan’s independence day, came on the heels of an unusually deadly wave of violence across the country, most of it carried out by the Taliban, that has left at least 325 soldiers, police and civilians dead in the past 10 days.

“We call on the leadership of the Taliban to welcome the wishes of the Afghan people for a long lasting and real peace, and we urge them to prepare for peace talks based on Islamic values and principles,” he said. “The Afghan government has removed all obstacles for a long-lasting peace through these unprecedented steps.”

One tiny little obstacle remains: The Taliban wants power, not peace.