[This Iran war post yet again fired before finished. Please return at 8:00 AM EDT or refresh this page then for a final version]
Let us start with yet more confirmation that no way, no how will there be negotiations over ending the Iran conflict. Reader and former diplomat Aurelien has even felt compelled to object to use of the word “negotiation” in this context. Barking at a distance is not negotiation. One can at best designate this talking past each other to be “talks”.
A well-informed source on the progress of negotiations between Iran and the United States confirmed that the top-level directives issued to the Iranian negotiating team included five conditions that must be met before entering into talks on the nuclear file:
1.Ending the war on…— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@Alihashem) May 12, 2026
Needless to say, the US will have yet another hissy. But mainstream media around the world is reporting on the hardening of Iran position, such as Le Monde in Le Monde Iran says US must accept its peace plan or face ‘failure’. Again, it is important not just that Iran has taken this stance but also that authoritative media are amplifying it.
But US heads really will explode over Iran contemplating going to a higher rung on the nuclear enrichment ladder:
یکی از گزینههای ایران در صورت حمله مجدد میتواند غنیسازی ۹۰ درصد باشد. در مجلس بررسی میکنیم.
— ابراهیم رضایی (@EbrahimRezaei14) May 12, 2026
Translation: “One of Iran’s options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment. We will review it in the parliament.”
Recall that Chas Freeman said at the outset of the war that it would be rational for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and many others later came to the same view. Of course, Iran could have gotten a running start:
According to a recent post by Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Iran’s National Security Commission in Parliament, Iran will review the option of enriching its uranium to 90% purity if it is attacked again.
What he failed to mention is that there are strong suspicions this process…
— Patricia Marins (@pati_marins64) May 13, 2026
Janta Ka also covers the nuclear threat. Note that Rifat Jawaid, admittedly following nearly all of the mainstream media and Twitterverse, does not call out that the Iran vow to enrich to 90% as opposed to its current 60% limit is conditional, and might happen only in the event of another attack. But this will enrage the hawks in the US and Israel, and inconveniently can be presented as validating the Hegseth claim that Iran needed to be stripped of its ability to engage in any enrichment because it still harbored the intent of building a bomb.
See also Lindsay Graham fulminating about Pakistan being an unfit negotiator due to harboring Iran aircraft; reader Ann provided an underlying report from NDTV:
Reuters reports that Iran is laying claim to even more of the Gulf s Iran now defines Strait of Hormuz as far larger zone, IRGC officer says. Note that this announcement came on official media:
Iran has expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz into a “vast operational area” far wider than before the Iran war, according to a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy.
The strait is no longer viewed as a narrow stretch around a handful of islands but instead has been greatly enlarged in scope and military significance, said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political director of the IRGC Navy, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.
“In the past, the Strait of Hormuz was defined as a limited area around islands such as Hormuz and Hengam, but today this view has changed,” Akbarzadeh said.
Akbarzadeh said the strait is now defined as a strategic zone stretching from the city of Jask in the east to Siri Island in the west, describing it as “a vast operational area”…
Fars and Tasnim, another Iranian news agency, reported on Tuesday that the strait’s width, which they said was previously estimated at 20 to 30 miles, had now increased to between 200 and 300 miles.
Iran (and China) are testing US control after the destroyer dust-up last week:
BREAKING
Iran has granted dozens of Chinese ships permission to pass through the Strait of Hormuz
Over the past two days, more than 10 Chinese ships have been seen leaving the Strait of Hormuz
Xi Jinping can now tell Trump that his ships are crossing and the Strait is… pic.twitter.com/3xv84pqTRD
— Daily Iran News (@DailyIranNews) May 13, 2026
Note both a correspondent and a just-published OilPrice story saw only one Chinese vessel so far exiting the Strait of Hormuz, yet to encounter the shabby US blockade. If 12 ships can go out in close succession, that is more than the US can handle unless the US is willing to fire on them and perhaps sink them. Most experts contend that the US has only ~6 vessels tasked to this mission.
OilPrice noted Chinese Oil Tanker Tests Safe Passage Through Strait of Hormuz: “…if it is allowed to pass, it would only be the third tanker carrying oil for China from the Persian Gulf that has traversed Hormuz since the start of the war.”
The source of the story, Bloomberg, does show that an LNG carrier has already gotten through, confirming that the blackade is mighty leaky Its landing page at 4:00 AM EDT:
From Bloomberg’s Chinese Oil Supertanker Seen Attempting Strait of Hormuz Exit:
Supertanker Yuan Hua Hu was seen moving through the waterway on Wednesday morning, past Iran’s Larak island, on the eastern side of the waterway and heading south, ship-tracking data show. The vessel is owned and operated by units of China’s Cosco Shipping, according to shipping database Equasis.
The transit — which would be only the third by a Chinese very large crude carrier since the war began — comes at a delicate time. A long-awaited leaders’ summit this week will touch on topics including the war in the Middle East and Beijing’s perceived support for Tehran. China’s private refiners have been major buyers of Iranian crude for years, providing a financial lifeline….
And for sake of completeness, from the banner headline story, Iran’s Kharg Island Oil Shipments Show First Prolonged Halt Since Start of War:
Oil shipments from Iran’s main export terminal appear to have come to a standstill over the past several days, according to satellite images, the first sign of a prolonged halt since the start of the war.
There were no ocean-going oil tankers observed at Kharg Island on May 8, 9 or 11, European satellite imagery compiled by Bloomberg shows. While there have been individual days when the jetties have been empty since the conflict began, this is by far the longest stretch when no tankers have been spotted.
Iran has loaded cargoes at the facility throughout the conflict, continuing to fill ships and use them as floating storage after their passage out of the Persian Gulf was blocked by the US Navy.
And a broader picture confirms that Iran has not gotten much oil out via the Strait of Hormuz of late:
To our best knowledge, Iran hasn't successfully exported* any crude oil by sea over the past 28 days. Some refined products managed to escape because US OFAC did not slap sanctions on those tankers.
In addition, Kharg Island hasn't loaded any tankers since 2026-05-06 as a result…
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) May 12, 2026
However, as we and others have said many many times, Iran not shipping oil is not the biggie that Iran foes would have you believe. Iran has endured protracted periods of very low oil exports before and does not seem to have sustained damage to its oil wells. And it has more export alternative now: by train to China, overland to Pakistan, and on the Caspian Sea to Russia to then be sent to China.
For readers keep tabs on vessel tracking site: the test is NOT departing the Strait of Hormuz. Many carriers have done that and turned back, such as the Chinese-owned Richard Starry. The test is whether they get to the Indian Ocean.
Trump is still in ever-be-escalating mode, and it’s not apparent that he is current on Iran’s almost-daily toughening of its position:
BREAKING NEWS: White House insiders leak that President Trump has taken the hardline position that either Iran will bow to his demands or he will finish losing the war, crashing the US economy, and obliterating his presidency.
— Garland Nixon (@TheGarlandNixon) May 12, 2026
But given how fabulously changeable Trump is, the Xi visit could provide enough ego massage for him to come home and find weaker targets to punch, like Europe over Greenland. But offsetting that hope is the US is adding to as opposed to withdrawing forces in the theater.
However, evidence keeps accumulating of US weakness and Iranian potency:
Massive bombshell. Rep. Ed Case explicitly confirms the Pentagon has lost a staggering 39 aircraft in the disastrous war against Iran, exposing the unprecedented destruction of American military assets.
Pentagon CFO Jay Hurst desperately dodges the huge replacement costs. pic.twitter.com/Ligc31gSvi
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) May 12, 2026
A New York Times story makes official what the reality-based community suspected, in U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Retains Substantial Missile Capabilities:
The Trump administration’s public portrayal of a shattered Iranian military is sharply at odds with what U.S. intelligence agencies are telling policymakers behind closed doors, according to classified assessments from early this month that show Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities.
Most alarming to some senior officials is evidence that Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, which could threaten American warships and oil tankers transiting the narrow waterway.
People with knowledge of the assessments said they show — to varying degrees, depending on the level of damage incurred at the different sites — that the Iranians can use mobile launchers that are inside the sites to move missiles to other locations. In some cases they can launch missiles directly from launchpads that are part of the facilities. Only three of the missile sites along the strait remain totally inaccessible, according to the assessments.
Iran still fields about 70 percent of its mobile launchers across the country and has retained roughly 70 percent of its prewar missile stockpile, according to the assessments. That stockpile encompasses both ballistic missiles, which can target other nations in the region, and a smaller supply of cruise missiles, which can be used against shorter-range targets on land or at sea.
Keep in mind that this assessment is crap. Lebanon used decoy mobile launchers actively before the big Hezbollah setback of a couple of years ago. Iran is sure to have done that and likely have better fakes too.
Reader raspberry jam pointed out that Israel find itself politically hog-tied when the hawks would be keen to escalate:
raspberry jam
May 12, 2026 at 7:58 amIsraeli regime change watch:
The ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party has threatened to dissolve the Knesset over the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service, potentially moving up the 2026 parliamentary elections by months, Hebrew media reports.
And:
raspberry jam
May 12, 2026 at 12:28 pmPosted a comment in yesterday’s thread that Ra’am (Arab/Islamic party) is willing to join coalition with non-likud, non-kahanist parties which may be enough given the number of people polled who voted for Likud last election who are unwilling this time . The orthodox party bringing down the government over conscription is significant for any Israeli -led war on any front at this moment because electioneering will halt any real operational escalation until a new government is formed. Remember it took 5 tries to hold a coalition last time and now the Kahanist bloc simply does not have the backing to reprop a similar coalition in the current mood
A further observation:
raspberry jam
May 12, 2026 at 8:23 pmMore detail- they are starting the process on Wednesday:
To pass, however, a vote to dissolve the Knesset would need to be backed not only by all other opposition parties, but also by the fellow ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which has 11 MKs, and which did not immediately make its position clear
And
The Haredi parties are widely reported to favor advancing elections to September 15, two days after Rosh Hashanah…
…Netanyahu is believed to want to avoid an election date close to the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas invasion and slaughter. Some reports Tuesday claimed he wants to hold the vote on October 20 or 27, which would be as late as possible…
If Netanyahu has to spend the next three months keeping the Knesset from being dissolved and electioneering, just how much major escalation on any front can be done? In the current climate there is zero guarantee that a resumption of missiles from Iran would result in rallying around Netanyahu as leader. He can’t force through the haredi exemption to keep the coalition together without risking another coalition member dropping (Gideon Sa’ar’s party maybe) or major issues with the IDF (I said a while back that a military coup or removal was possible if not likely if the defeat was too bad and Netanyahu refused to step down without a pardon).
On the economic front, from the Financial Times IEA warns of further price spikes as global oil inventories fall at record pace
Global oil inventories are plummeting at a record pace with the ongoing disruptions caused by the Iran war threatening further price spikes, the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday.
Stockpiles of crude oil and refined fuel declined at a rate of almost 4mn barrels a day in April — the equivalent of more than the UK and Germany’s consumption combined — threatening to erode the buffer countries rely on to weather supply shocks…
“Rapidly shrinking buffers amid continued disruptions may herald future price spikes ahead.”
The warning from the IEA will add to concerns that stockpiles of certain fuels could reach critically low levels this summer, forcing consumers to compete for dwindling supplies.
Consider the landing page at the Washington Post:
From Prices for these grocery items have spiked highest since the war began
Relentlessly climbing energy costs, coupled with tariffs and ongoing agricultural and farming issues, mean grocery bills are rising quickly and might continue for months. Costs spiked especially for a few key staples of Americans’ diets, including fresh produce and beef. …
Overall, grocery prices are up more than 18 percent since January 2022. And the energy shocks from the war are only just now starting to be felt on supermarket shelves. Economists expect the effects to become clearer in the coming months and even into next year….
But the inflation this time differs from rising prices after the pandemic, [William] Masters [a professor of food policy and economics at Tufts University] said. In 2022, people had saved money after saving while in the pandemic lockdown and could more easily absorb some of the demand-fueled inflation. Now, supply costs are driving the increases.
“Here, there’s not even the higher paychecks to cushion the blow,” he said.
More on the US consumer inflation picture:
While April CPI inflation rose to 3.8%, inflation is much higher in many basic necessities:
1. Energy Commodity Inflation: +29.2%
2. Gasoline Inflation: +28.4%
3. Airfare Inflation: +20.7%
4. Energy Inflation: +17.9%
5. Electricity Inflation: +6.1%
6. Fruits and Vegetables…— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 12, 2026
And bond investors are reacting to news of rising inflation. Lower bond prices = higher interest rates. From NO1:
Global bond market meltdown intensifying: US 30Y yield above 5.02%, 10Y nearing 4.50%. Japan 20Y at highest since 1996. UK 30Y gilt at highest since 1998. Dismal 10Y auction — 4th tailing in a row, lowest foreign demand since Jan 2025. Kobeissi warning mortgages heading back above 7%.
In addition, ship fuel costs and shortages are a new vector that can hurt the US and China in not-before-contemplated ways. From Associated Press in Shipping industry fears fuel shortages as Iran war squeezes bunker fuel supply:
Ship operators rely on a sludgelike substance known as bunker fuel to keep vessels running. The Iran war ‘s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off the supply of this fuel that powers the global maritime industry and its largest refueling hub in Asia.
Bunker fuel is a literal bottom of the barrel product: heavier and dirtier than the more expensive kinds of refined crude oil used by other vehicles like cars and airplanes, it sinks to the bottom of storage containers.
But it helps move the 80% of globally traded goods that are transported by sea, and experts say that means a shortage of bunker fuel will translate to higher shipping costs, increase consumer prices and hurt the bottom lines of businesses worldwide.
That will be an issue first in Asia, which relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil. In Singapore, the world’s biggest refueling hub for bunker fuel, reserves are dwindling and prices are spiking.
Shipping companies are trying to adapt to the energy shock, reducing vessel speeds and revising schedules to cut costs in the short term while making plans to acquire ships that can run on alternative fuels.
But some companies won’t survive this triage for long, according to Henning Gloystein of the Eurasia Group consultancy firm, who warned that the pain will spread beyond Asia through global supply chains…
More than half of global seaborne trade moved through Asian ports in 2024, according to United Nations data, so what happens there will have global consequences….
But the prolonged cutoff from major sources of the heavier crude oil needed for bunker fuel, like Iraq and Kuwait, will cause shortages, said Natalia Katona of the commodity site OilPrice…
Before the war, bunker fuel in Singapore cost about $500 per metric ton ($450 per U.S. ton). That went up to more than $800 ($725 per U.S. ton) as of early May…
“Bunker fuel shortages tend to feed through to shipping costs more quickly than many other cost pressures,” said Oliver Miloschewsky of risk consultancy firm Aon.
The Wall Street Journal describes how the use of land routes in the Middle East is getting some shipments out and reducing the intensity of shortages, importantly of fertilizer. From The New Route Around Hormuz Involves a Massive Convoy of Trucks:
After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, Bob Wilt, CEO of Saudi Arabian state-controlled mining company Maaden, dispatched executives to Red Sea ports and, within two weeks, lined up rail and truck operators to move fertilizer across the kingdom.
The key ingredient: Lots of trucks, mostly running around the clock, with two drivers each.
“Six hundred became 1,600, became 2,000; now we’ve got 3,500 trucks running from the Gulf to the Red Sea,” said Wilt, a former executive at aluminum producer Alcoa….
Maryland-born Wilt said Maaden will have caught up on its export backlog by the end of May….
Shipping companies including MSC and Maersk are trucking goods across the Arabian peninsula. The mobilization can’t replace the capacity of shipping or compete on cost, nor can it avert shortages of jet fuel and other energy products. Still, it has become a shock absorber in some key markets, sustaining trade and helping contain global inflation.
Another cheery sighting. Shortages will soon become visible even in the supposedly well-protected US::
Just got word Mobil and Shell have informed Costco and Walmart they have no packaged product to send them and to expect bare shelves in the motor oil section in a few weeks
— Costa Kapothanasis (@CostaKapo) May 11, 2026
Recall we warned very early on about lubricant shortages. This will have all sorts of serious knock-on effects, from warehouse operations (and that includes for food) to construction.
In the “I can’t even” level of Trump derangement, I had missed:
They are openly performing Masonic-Luciferian idol worship in front of the world.
MAGA evangelical “leaders” gathered at Mar-a-Lago and conducted a full public golden calf ritual blessing and dedicating a literal gold statue of Donald Trump as if he were a divine figure.
This… https://t.co/epbHaAFY42 pic.twitter.com/OYOUTqf9Aa
— Aprajita Nafs Nefes 🦋 Ancient Believer (@aprajitanefes) May 9, 2026
Robert Barnes weighs in at 24:20 to Stas Krapivnik. He is clearly not persuaded by the argument that the gathering of religious leaders was merely to flatter honor Trump. At a bare minimum, they did not take care to insulate themselves from the bad optics:
From a lightly-cleaned-up machine transcript:
Barnes: The other reason why he wants the enriched uranium is he sees that as his trophy. He thinks like a trophy guy now. That’s why there’s a [muffled]. They literally had a bunch of pastors do the meme and bless a gold statute of Trump and one of the one of his places. They came together the pastors with Jewish leaders. I was like, am I…this is somebody this has got to be like AI, right?
Stas: Wait wait wait. I missed this. They blessed a golden statue of Trump.
Barnes: Yes. Yes.
Stas; [Interjecting, laughing] Wasn’t a golden calf?
Banres: I mean, that’s what everybody was saying. He’s like, “But no, in fact, the pastor went out of his way, “This isn’t a golden calf. It’s a golden statue of Trump.” Like, that’s how it’s different. And they had like Jewish leaders next to him. And it’s like, you got to be kidding me. Like, “We here bless this great statue to the great leader Donald Trump.”
Trump has also been binge-posting on Truth Social, producing many correctly appalled reactions on Twitter. Be sure to click through for the catalogue below:
Trump had one of his worst mental health episodes yet last night, posting over 55 times in 3 hours. Here is the list:
10:15 PM – Accuses Obama of attempting a coup in 2016
10:15 PM – Says Obama worked with CIA to overthrow Trump
10:15 PM – Reposts tweet saying Obama is a…— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) May 12, 2026
Larry Johnson looked at a subset of 12 and that was bad enough. Do read his entire post because it included more images Trump uploaded than just the one we hoisted below. . From the top of If You Have to Tell People You’re the G.O.A.T., Then You Are Not:
Here is the complete list of the 12 Truth Social posts (original posts and reposts) made by President Donald J. Trump between 10:24 PM and 10:30 PM ET on May 10, 2026 that triggered me. This was part of a much larger evening posting spree (over 40–55 posts total that night) focused on self-praise, election-related claims, and supporter-generated memes. Most items in this narrow 6-minute window were rapid reposts of flattering content from supporters rather than original long-form text from Trump. Instead of focusing on Americans who are paying soaring prices for gasoline, diesel and food — all a consequence of Trump’s boneheaded, dangerous policy gambits — Trump pretended he was the wicked Queen in Snow White and asked the mirror, Who is the Greatest Of All Time:
10:24 PM – Repost of a supporter post claiming Trump ranks among the top 3 presidents in U.S. history (ranked #1 by the user). Summary: Shared an image and text arguing Trump belongs in the top tier of all presidents (linked to a poll or supporter ranking).
Less visibly nuts but still “L’etat, c’est moi” level insensitivity:
Trump on Iran War:
Reporter: What extent are Americans’ financial situation motivating you to make a deal?
Trump: Not even a little bit. I don't think about Americans’ financial situation pic.twitter.com/TJ94pGpqD8
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 12, 2026
Black humor is the best we can offer in the levity category today:
If high gas prices upset you, remember it’s a small price to pay for a nuke that didn’t exist and a Strait that was already open
— Donhammed Trumpistan (@TheRealDon85) May 12, 2026
Done for today! See you tomorrow!
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‘Garland Nixon
@TheGarlandNixon
BREAKING NEWS: White House insiders leak that President Trump has taken the hardline position that either Iran will bow to his demands or he will finish losing the war, crashing the US economy, and obliterating his presidency.’
So it is either crash or crash through. And at this stage he is prepared to send the whole world into an economic depression rather than have Iran win and bruise his ego. Maybe when this is all over he can go into retirement – into Israel. They still love him there. maybe the only place that will still do so.
It’s a classic. It just amazes me that everybody else is so willing to let it happen. This will destroy the old establishment across the Western world.
GOP will be destroyed for a generation and the Democratic party is being handed over to progressive populists like Mandani, Platner and Khanna. UK and EU are already over the cliff and falling into complete irrelevancy. China is already the dominant political and economic force with a chokehold on the world economy. But everyone is acting as if it’s 2006.
The Gingrich candidate policy and the New Democrats both took over around 40 years ago. As bad as they were, the powers that be are the equivalent of their Nepo babies. New Labour is a similar story. Starmer is just a dopey Blair.
I’m reminded of the old Addams Family, New Yorker cartoons where the family was clearly an old patrician style family that had fallen on hard times, holding onto tradition as the world passed by because they weren’t fit for anything else. There is that Michigan, Senate primary. The young candidate favored by the establishment might have a bunch of parades set to go, but she is getting crushed in young polling because these people are so out to lunch in a way Bill Clinton and even his worst cronies never were.
For the US, the big problem was Obama didn’t purge the New Democrats and become our Caesar when he had a chance instead being a petty Sulla. The GOP is a rump, regional party kept alive by the “New Democrats.”
Obama was the ‘new democrats’. It may have started with billy and hilly but barak cemented the scam by being a token. Bamboozled is the word that comes to mind when thinking of the average dem voter – see the shiny spangly thing and ignore the pickpockets.
He had the opportunity to smash the oligarchy but that’s not why he was installed.
Of course there were many who saw through the lies but I imagine most of those stopped voting duopoly long before.
I noticed Politico put out a hit piece on Dr El-Sayed yesterday, starting with calling him a ‘physician.’. What semiotic punch those inverted commas must have in the desperately mainstream mind. And Senator Spook, our ballpark franking Slotkin, is an out-and-proud Zionist (duh) and falling back on the antisemitic two step when confronted. I cheer for the good Doctor But there are more Nessels and Slotkins and Whitmers than he and few states have a Dearborn (looking at fih New Jersey).
“GOP will be destroyed for a generation…”
I wish it were so, but recent history teaches us otherwise. There have been so, so many events that signaled the death of the Republican Party, e.g.:
-the J6 coup attempt
-when SCOTUS overturned Roe
-when SCOTUS nullified student loan forgiveness
And yet, here we are.
[enter GIF of American man riding a bicycle and shoving a stick into the spokes of his front wheel]
J6 is a scam. Dems were in charge of security. Most people don’t care.
Roe v Wade is important but the people that were voting on this issue were already in one party or the other.
We don’t know how student loan forgiveness will play out. My loans will start in the summer. My hit isn’t as drastic as others but this will break a lot of people…add this financial blow to high gas prices…I don’t know the numbers but they are sucking billions of dollars out of the consumer economy.
A president and party telling everyone that they don’t care about your financial problems. They care about a foreign country’s security over your ability to feed your children/family/pets will destroy any party. The Republicans may keep the evangelical vote but I think (anecdotal) that my generations great awakening is going to sleep.
Many people (Cassandras?) said this when Libya was transformed into a failed state and people noted no one sabre-rattles North Korea because it already is a nuclear state.
Any country fearing the US-Zionist Axis and capable of obtaining nuclear arms should probably start doing so.
Quick editing suggestion:
“Recall that Chas Freeman said at the outset of the war that it would be ration for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and many others later came to the same view. ”
Looks like you left out the ‘al’ part, i.e., “rational for Iran to develop …”
Thanks, fixing.
All done (except for some formatting and typo cleanup). If you arrived before the time of this comment, please refresh this page and re-skim.
I had to laugh at the “Golden Statue” story. It all fits perfectly. Trump is the essence of a Confidence Man. He has a history of “selling” grifts and grafts. Now he ‘honours’ himself with a statue, called golden, that is really base metal gilded with gold leaf. In short, a brick painted gold and passed off as a gold brick. The fun to be had with a “goldbrick” meme is a gift that keeps on giving. “Giving” however is something alien to Trump’s psychology.
Concerning the statue’s composition: “In summary, while the statue appears golden, it is bronze at its core with a gold leaf overlay, combining durability with the iconic gold aesthetic associated with Trump.”
Speaking of Trumpian business ethics and statues: https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/donald-trump-15-foot-golden-statue-lies-crippled-after-dispute-what-happened-to-don-colossus-article-153580173
Stay safe.
‘In short, a brick painted gold and passed off as a gold brick.’
And here I was thinking that you had misspelt that word ‘brick’. That article says that that cryptocurrency mob is trying to stiff sculptor Alan Cottrill for his work on that statue of trump. I wonder where they got that idea from?
what i find interesting is that the incident of the golden calf(Exodus 32:19-20) was idolatry and loss of faith in the one god while Moses was communing with the burning bush while gone for 40 days and 40 nights – didn’t Jesus have a 40 days and 40 nights moment too? – and didn’t Mohammad have his first moment with the voice when he was 40 and was spending 40 days and 40 nights in a cave? – why is the number 40 so special – and why doesn’t the obvious parallel of tRump’s statue to the golden calf situation illuminate the idolatry that was scorned by Moses – and Moses destroyed the golden calf, grinding it to powder, scattering it on the water, and making the Israelites drink it – wouldn’t mind seeing that with the tRump statue – when you think it can’t get more loony tunes than it already is………it does –
My Catholic school principal said 40 was probably just a number understood to be longer than a month for a long time which everyone would be familiar with and it just caught on.
Forty is a popular number in the Hebrew bible.
‘i have waited patiently for the Lord,’ Psalm 40. U2 made a song out of it. How long to sing this song? If I recall aright Annemarie Schimmel in her book The Mystery of Numbers, related the number 40 towaiting, punishment, atonement and purification in the OT which was taken up by subsequent Abrahamic traditions. Karen Armstrong also mentioned that the Kabbalist should not begin his kabbalizing before 40 in her A History of God.
And don’t forget the Unemployment Benefit form, the UB40, from which the band took it’s name.
There is another possibility regarding the prevalence of forty-day time periods in ancient religions, which was mentioned in “Homer’s Secret Odyssey.”
Forty days is the length of the heliacal setting of a star near the ecliptic, such as the stars of zodiac constellations. Ancient civilizations did a lot of their astronomy based upon the visibility of zodiac constellations near the horizon at dawn or dusk. Once a year, every star gets close enough to the sun that it disappears for forty days before reemerging.
A forty-day time period thus holds ritual significance to ancient people that is lost to a modern audience. For instance, in the 2,700-year-old poem “Works and Days,” Hesiod says:
‘When the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas, are rising [in early May], begin your harvest, and your ploughing when they are going to set [in November]. Forty nights and days they are hidden and appear again as the year moves round, when first you sharpen your sickle.”
All that’s missing is the “line go up” human sacrifices …
https://share.google/YYdeev6vZHBtJPtmN
That was already done. The covid vaccines.
It’s campaign season.
With Trump’s phone-in, the statue event had a fundraiser vibe or reward some donors with some kind of “special” event.
Remember, this is a grifter first.
And all those tweets fired off on Truth Social…campaigning and fundraising 24/7 on that account. Still about the “red meat” that worked for him on campaign trail. Staffed…
As an atheist-bordering agnostic, I have to laugh at the sheer stupidity, the ‘barren of grey matter’ ignorance of it all.
OTOH, where are the actual religious people who, in my mind, should be repulsed, offended or furious about this? I don’t expect much from loony bin evangelicals but what about the mainstream?
All in their silos. Listening to Priest/Pastor. Not reading NC.
As my friend has been saying for decades, where is the outrage?
And there’s been so much “flooding the zone” that it’s easy to forget we are barely a year away from this event (an absurdity best expressed by this comedic twist):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUntzU4Toy4/
Come on down to the White House Tesla Auto Mall
Trump in China – an opera by Adam Johns
I can’t get this idea out of my head.
News! (Met Opera, YouTube 1:33). This is one of the funniest songs from what for me today is overall quite chuckle inducing. At the time I bought the LP box set, which I still have, and took it seriously. Iirc Yves is personally connected to Nixon in China’s librettist Alice Goodman.
Now imagine Trump in China, a comic opera. Trump could be quite the antihero given his extraordinary language and personal stylings. The set up for this summit in China is pure comedy. And can we have the scene with the Easter Bunny?
Now that I think of it, NC has in-house librettists available.
The Nixon in China librettist, Alice Goodman, was a college roommate for 2 years. But we cohabited on a frosty basis (long story, I had had a pretty good relationship with my prior year roomies but I was a class behind, which would have hurt them in the housing lottery for seniors, so I put myself in the general pool and Alice and I were assigned to each other. She was at least studious so it could have been worse.
I don’t think she ever appreciated that I did her a favor by sticking with her for 2 years (I could have dropped her to go into the senior lottery solo and was assured to get a nice studio; note she did not ask to go into the housing pool by herself, which being then a junior, meant she would have been assigned to a different rooming group; only seniors could get studios. That was a tacit admission that she recognized that she could easily have been worse off than with me).
I could provide a longer-form story that will reveal a lot but will spare you.
Trump got a good carpeting on arrival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_25vtYwExo
This is already starting to look more weird and fun than Nixon in China.
But did Xi greet him at the airport?
I’ve heard he didn’t but haven’t confirmed the subtle snub. The subtle-ness of it was probably over Don’s head but all Chinese will say “Xi diss’d Trump” and I’d say they are correct.
NYTimes did a bit with history of their protocol:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/world/asia/trump-china-arrival-airport-presidents.html
What China’s Choice of Airport Greeter Says About Trump
Beijing welcomed President Trump with a high-ranking vice president, but the choice of a ceremonial leader suggests China is trading symbolism for substance.
(Obama got a Xi greet, but this was just before Xi was made top dog. However, he was already known to be the next top dog and extremely high ranking as it was)
‘Acyn
@Acyn
Trump on Iran War:
Reporter: What extent are Americans’ financial situation motivating you to make a deal?
Trump: Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation’
If this is the way that he thinks, then things are really bad. It means that he does not think that he is accountable to anyone. Not Congress, not the law, not his fellow Republicans, not the Constitution and certainly not his fellow Americans. Maybe not even Mr. Market. He can do what he wants and that there is nobody that can stop him. Certainly the Democrats have demonstrated that they will not seriously oppose him. And if any in the media complain, he will threaten their license. No wonder he is livid about the Iranians. They tell him no.
Given the difficulty of interpreting DJT verbal emissions, I’m not sure one can offer a firm interpretation. Another possibility (following Michael Wolff, who asserts that DJT will not fire failing subordinates he is dissatisfied with if they are under attack by the press) is that DJT doesn’t want to appear to cave under pressure imposed by Iranian actions. He might care a great deal about the political damage he is suffering because of the financial damage, but he cares even more about his ‘tough guy’ public image.
—
Interestingly, in the 5/12 “Inside Trump’s Head” podcast, MW predicted that Marco Rubio will be dismissed before the midterm elections. His ‘crime’ is that he is “contrast gainer” in comparison with DJT. He’s visibly doing a better job than DJT is. Being attacked by the press can be protective in the DJT administration, since he hates much of the press. Being praised by the press more than DJT is praised, on the other hand, …
I foresee a danger here. In the book “I, Claudius”, Claudius notes how the Roman Emperors chose a successor that was worse than they so that they would look good by comparison. I could see Trump trying to do this. Vance had better watch his step.
I think Vance was probably chosen for exactly that reason, and he is doing a fine job of it.
Rubio looks relatively good just by staying out of the limelight.
The difference is that Rubio once ran for President while Vance has not. Trump will remember that. Also, Rubio has a lean and hungry look about him.
Vance is essentially a modern-day Dan Quayle, but without all the charisma.
Add makeup and carefully groomed manscapes. Dan Q was a sweaty guy who dressed 80’s Midwestern (grew up there, know the look from my family portraits).
I laughed hard about this comment. Very good! I think very truthful and to the point.
To be fair, the Democrats are perfectly capable of blowing an election against either Vance or Rubio.
Well, he isn’t accountable to anyone, is he? I mean, this is his second time in office and that fact alone should be proof positive that he never has had to answer for anything. His supporters will support him no matter what. Opposition will huff and puff but ultimately got ‘nothin. Laws should apply, but they won’t.
But yeah, this is why the Iran invasion is so interesting. Is this the first time in his life someone has told him “no”? Too bad we all are caught in the crossfire, but at least we live in interesting times, right?
Don’t forget how many women have told him no but look how that turned out.
“Laws should apply, but they won’t.”
Perhaps the frog was boiled by the previous prez with his naps and ice cream.
At least Marie Antoinette apocryphally said “let them eat cake.” Trump is unconcerned about what they eat and quotes Mad Magazine: “what, me worry?”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Neuman
Field report tidbit:
I had a significant amount of paper cash in multiple currencies from recent travel that I took to a forex currency exchange this morning to buy euros. Among them were Turkish lira and Israeli shekels. I was concerned about the lira and sure enough there was a note that the rate would be pinned to 20% less than the prior end of day rate. But I was surprised to find they refused to buy the shekels. She said it was new company policy then whispered “because of Gaza”. Maltese company, western union franchise. I will try to sell the shekels at another place later and share if it is more than just this firm
It must feel weird trying to exchange the modern day equivalent of Reichsmarks.
I hope you feel superior for your preconceived notions for why I have them. Might want to ask yourself if your comments here are contributing to the discussion in a meaningful way.
Sorry, I was actually empathising with you carrying the devil’s currency around with you in a muslim country. Obviously if you were one of the chosen ones you wouldn’t care what amalek like me think.
Malta is a (very) Catholic country and EU member, even if Maltese is closely related to Arabic (basically, an Arabic dialect).
I do wonder if the refusal to take Shekels is related to economic considerations or just politico-emotional (Shekel did suffer serious depreciation before, but that’s back in the 80s IIRC. I wonder how stable its value has been last couple of decades–has it generally been worthwhile as a currency to hold, or has its fortunes been jumping up and down as Israel’s politics has been shifting? I can see the charts from forex type orgs on the web, but I don’t know how to make sense of them in the grand scheme of things.)
PS. so the value of the Shekel has been skyrocketing lately? :O I didn’t expect that…..
It’s not an Arabic dialect, it’s closer to a creole of medieval Tunisian Arabic and Italian with a latin (mostly) alphabet. Them’s fighting words here :)
Regarding the shekel and the Israeli stock exchange, yes, both have been up since the war started. It is a mistake to assume the kinetic phase so far against Israel has done enough to fully prostrate Israel. This is one of the reasons I continue to grit my teeth and post here since near as I can tell I am one of the few commenters here with actual connections in Israel whereas the news we are forced to read is restricted to reporters mostly also out of kino.
I’m grateful for it, rj.
We appreciate that!! :)
Thanks for sticking around Raz!
Respect.
Obviously if you were one of the chosen ones you wouldn’t care what amalek like me think.
Strike two. I am neither Jewish nor Israeli. You should consider that you have no gd idea what you are talking about when you make snide and baseless conclusions against strangers in service of ensuring everyone knows how you feel about Israelis.
HI raspberry jam,
I rarely comment but always throw a few “Shekels” into the double-your-donations appeals.
I, for one, really appreciate your insights – and am deeply saddened that you feel you have to “continue to grit my teeth and post here”.
Every time you post I’m glad to see it – both that you’re safe and that you can draw the “on the ground” veil back a bit for us to see.
Thank you.
I appreciate the kind words. Please do remember though that this is not my blog and I am at best at “red hat” in the traditional sense of the word. I get tetchy when I am forced to defend my position based on assumptions of what others think I believe because of my connections (or my other topic of specialty here, AI). I think it is important people remember that (rightful) strong beliefs on either topic lead to blindness of the actual real situation. This is why I say I “grit my teeth”, I have had to repeatedly defend my position against people who want to log points on who can be the most against the Zionists or AI without running afoul of rules here. It can get tiresome – and time consuming – to go through the same shit over and over.
Not my blog either – but I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your posts!
A lot of what you post challenges what I think (especially the AI stuff – did a Masters in Expert Systems and Decision Support Systems back in the early ’90s and am AI agnostic because of that) and I just wanted to signal that this sample size of 1 has no interest in scoring points when things that you post “challenge” the orthodoxy. Instead I challenge my own orthodoxy – and that is precisely why I come here.
So thank you again for your insights!
My communication style is less “red hat” and more BOFH (hence why I don’t post much).
Just wanted to let you know that your Eternal September struggles are not in vain.
:-)
That statement is exactly wrong:
: US Dollar to Israeli Shekel Exchange Rate Chart
: The table(s) present the price of one United States Dollar. Germany, 1900 – 2000
On a lighter note:
> Although the definitions of critical thinking asserted by Ennis,
Sternberg and Suls differ, clearly according to all three models the
understanding of humor relies on critical thinking principles. Humor,
practices critical thinking skills in a context of positive high interest. Experts
agree that such practice will facilitate the continued use of and growth in
critical thinking (Costa, 1985).
Re: Reichsmarks. As a late kid of older parents, my family stories tend to go back to the century mark. In the 30’s, German relatives sent over a wad of currency, in the vain hope that my mom could exchange them in the USA at a more favorable rate. It was a desperate move. Alas, the telegraph and telephone were faster than mail and the notes were as worthless here as there. I still have the bundle. The 10 Pfennig bills are on thick, complex paper with beautiful engraving. The 10 million Mark notes are in shreds. I think I’ll frame them up soon. If history rhymes, then I’m hearing a dirge.
You’re probably talking in regards to 1923 era Marks, late 1930’s Reichsmarks were stable, but one tended to get beat up on exchange rates, as Germany was loathed as much as Israel is currently by the world community at large.
unclosed bold tag after
“A later observation:
raspberry jam”
I can’t help but comment on the Golden Statue.
Any decent bible student and/or kid who watched “Veggie Tales” knows the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar for not bowing down to worship the golden statue that he had made of himself and demanded they worship. They miraculously emerged unscathed. The three men were saved by God as a reward for their faithfulness in not bowing down to the King and breaking the commandment to “have no other God besides me.”
The story is a fixture in bible camps, sermons, bible studies, etc. So, for any so-called follower of Christ to actually bow down to a statue of the Donald is quite revealing. And the attempt to split hairs by saying it wasn’t a calf shows biblical illiteracy. King Neb didn’t build a golden calf. He built a statue of himself, just like the one these evangelical leaders are bowing down to. The lesson is not to have an idol and put it above or equal to God.
My personal take is that a lot of these types are showing their true nature. It’s especially humorous to see the so-called Christian and Jewish leaders jettison their most precious beliefs to become hidebound ideological stooges. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is in the Old Testament in the book of Daniel, so the Jewish leaders don’t get a pass, either.
They should have made a different statue from Daniel, with golden head but base metals for body and legs, and the feet clay.
Iran is the rock that will smash that statue.
-the Jewish leaders don’t get a pass, either
Hey now, this is American religion we’re talking about.
I’m never going to claim to be a devout Catholic, but there’s something so cartoonishly cynical, illiterate, and evil about the modern right-wing and their relationship to “Judeo-Christianity” that offends me on a moral level.
White Southern Baptists were always bad. It’s an evil organization and a constant reminder that Reconstruction was far too soft.
Just another old testament cult pretending to be christian.
i have my problems with the catholic church, and am myself an atheist, but something about the way trump and co. use religion strikes me as deeply heretical. it makes me feel like an old church lady.
That prohibition on graven images is not at all calf-specific. Indeed, that commandment, read literally, is pretty sweeping and justifies iconoclasm.
Yves posted this in today’s Links. The last line is especially hilarious:
https://babylonbee.com/news/three-conservatives-who-refuse-to-bow-to-trump-statue-thrown-into-fire-at-cpac
So were the three Republican’s names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by any chance?
Perhaps the modern translation of those names is, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Massie, and Mace?
When you’ve lost the Babylon Bee . . .
made a comment above before seeing this from you – i’m not bible literate like some but know enough to remember that the golden calf was idolatry and just amazing that it is ignored by these ‘religious’ folks –
Especially when idolatry is proscribed in the very first of those Ten Commandments that they are so fond of and want posted in every public school classroom across the nation.
Do the evangs disappear when the shit hits the fan?
…a different kind of ‘rapture’ to be sure
Perhaps they’ll start to lose enthusiasm for DJT if he begins talking about encoding Trump accounts in subdermal chips on the hand for forehead.
Daniel is a very interesting book, written in two different languages. The book begins in Hebrew, switches to Aramaic after Daniel and his companions are introduced, then reverts to Hebrew for the last 4 chapters. Aramaic came into broader use when the Neo-Assyrians began to use it for commercial and administrative purposes in the 7th century BCE, a practice which was followed by the neo-Babylonians (where the Daniel stories are set) and by the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire that conquered the neo-Babylonians and allowed Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem.
John Collins, the author of the Hermeneia series commentary on Daniel (and my old prof at U of C), dates the book to the mid-2nd century BCE, around the time of the Maccabean revolt, a key event in Collins’s history of Judaism. You can see at the very end how the book was written on the fly during a time of great tribulation. Readers are first instructed to hold on for 1,290 days until deliverance. Then, in the very next and very last sentence, they’re exhorted to hang on for 1,335 days. The book ends without recounting the final outcome.
Daniel also has a Greek version found in the Septuagint (LXX). It contains additional material not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic version, including the quite funny story of Bel.
Another thing to note is how the names of our heroes, except for Daniel (= God is my judge in Hebrew), have been changed from Hebrew names honoring Jah, i.e. YHWH, to names that honor Babylonian gods:
Hananiah (“YHWH shows mercy”) -> Belteshazzar (“Bel, i.e. Marduk, protect his life”);
Mishael (“Who is what God is?” -> Shadrach (“command of Aku (Babylonian moon god));
Azariah (“YHWH helps”) -> Abednego (“Who is what Aku is?”).
This highlights the henotheistic worldview common in the ancient Near East. The Judah-ites had their god YHWH, and the Babylonians had their gods. No one denied the existence of another nation’s gods, but these henotheistic religions did demand that people worship the god of their nation, not another nation’s god. This is also the context for gods “choosing” particular peoples. Of course, when some of the exiles began to claim that YHWH had not been vanquished by Marduk and the Babylonians, but was instead the God the universe, this “chosen people” trope was retained, leading to many problems with which we still deal today.
Just clarify, in the old testament, the golden calf was made by the Hebrews when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God. When Moses came down and saw the golden calf, he smashed the Ten Commandments.
Israelis don’t read it. A large chunk of the book is in Aramaic.
By Emo Philips, voted best religious joke of all time:
https://youtu.be/ANNX_XiuA78?si=7JS1T9c96CAIYkwT
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump.
I said, “Don’t do it!”
He said, “Nobody loves me.”
I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”
He said, “A Christian.”
I said, “Me, too!
Protestant or Catholic?”
He said, “Protestant.”
I said, “Me, too! What franchise?”
He said, “Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.
Thanks for that. I remember seeing him do this routine many years ago and almost fell over laughing.
Early in the 20th century there was a taciturn, cantankerous Norwegian American, bachelor farmer named Ole who lived next to a small town on a big lake in northern Minnesota. In the middle of the lake there was a large island and one day Ole decided he’d had enough of “civilization” and decided to move to it. Over the next several years the townspeople observed Ole’s progress through their binoculars. First he cleared about half the island and turned it into fields which he tilled and then he built a house and a barn and several other buildings. After almost a decade had passed his old acquaintance Sven (Ole never had any real friends) couldn’t contain his curiosity and decided to pay him a visit to take a closer look. Ole hadn’t even built a dock so Sven had to come ashore in his row boat at a small sandy area that was between two large rocks. Ole had seen him coming so he met him there and after Sven explained his curiosity he reluctantly took him on a guided tour. After showing Sven the House, the barn and the grain storage bin Ole pointed to another structure and said that’s the church I go to. Sven, taken aback, said “Well then what’s that building over there?” pointing in the opposite direction. “That’s the church I used to go to.”
Cultural notes. Yep, I am on une mission civilisatrice.
Three ways of looking at Trump:
–Yves Smith has consistently pointed out that Trump has a great “skill” at sensing weakness. That likely explains why his cowardly staff is terrified of taking away his device before he overheats the Xitter, and it also explains the purpose of those posts — search for weaknesses, smothered in Trump’s resentments.
–Pino Arlacchi described Trump (and by extension the US of A) as a predator who has run of out prey. See below.
–Trump manages by chaos. It is highly likely that he is non compos mentis, but the pattern is stronger than rationality.
On running out of prey. On Iran’s demands:
1.Ending the war on all fronts
2.Lifting all sanctions
3.Releasing frozen assets
4.Compensating for war damages and losses
5.Recognition of Iran’s sovereign right over the Strait of Hormuz
This is a war of liberation. It may be better for us to consider it from the Iranian point of view as a stake through the heart of colonialism. (See: China, too.)
The uprising in Gaza is also a war of liberation, which is why the Israelis and the U.S. government despise it so thoroughly. What happened in Gaza is a new Tet Offensive, and the U.S. foreign-policy chattering classes are still trying to figure out how those maudits Frenchified wogs managed to pull that off.
Likewise, the Russians are engaged in an anticolonialist war. They can see the coups in Ukraine. They can see the attempts to suborn Georgia. They can see the population flight in ultra-corrrupt Latvia.
PS: Protestants and statues and May. Sheesh. Just when one thinks that the dregs of U.S. protestantism cannot get any dreggier. The month of May in Catholicism is dedicated to the Madonna. DId you note the blue cloth and white cloth on the Trump statue? Ask any Catholic what the Madonna’s colors are. This wardrobe malfunction isn’t going to go over well — they should have checked in with oh-so-Catholic J.D. Vance.
PPS: I live fairly close to the Basilica of the Gran Madre di Dio, yes, the Mother of God, who may have a thing or two to say about golden statues in May. I will head over and have a chat…
Well, in fairness, blue and white are also the colors of the Israeli flag. But draping the Golden Trump in the flag itself might have been a little too much for this “ecumenical” performance.
The original 10 Iranian demands have been beaten down to five! Trump is winning bigly!
It’s interesting that they appear to be hanging onto the reparations demand and are presumably not just planning to get the money from charging tolls in the Hormuz.
Not sure if this was sarcasm, but the list of 5 items just released by Iran is what it will take to get them back to the negotiating table.
So it’s actually even more of a failure for Trump.
liberation..indeed. Perhaps the yoke of christianity being called into question?
My late uncle was a Catholic priest and Navy chaplain. He always said the Prods were Christianity’s second string.
This has sunk to a whole new lower level. I am a very lapsed Catholic and this even offends me. Feel slimed.
“still trying to figure out how those maudits Frenchified wogs managed to pull that off” – LIHOP
I still think Hamas should have to change their name to “DumbAss” for falling for it. They actually thought they’d pulled it off. Dumbasses LOL
The Israeli government made it ILLEGAL to question the government’s version of Oct 7 …
That’s all I need
Re. Iranian enrichment, late last night (EST) saw this post from BRICS News about an earthquake reported in Iran and now a search this morning returns a list of multiple similar reports with many headlines asking the obvious question about whether this is an underground nuclear test.
Regardless of its truthiness, the timing is remarkable considering the Golden Calf’s arrival in China.
They would hardly conduct a nuke test under their own capital. Iran has a history of natural earthquakes-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_Iran
Indeed — the headlines about the quake hitting Tehran AND positing the question “is this a nuclear Iran” seem to answer themselves with a hearty, “no, no it is not.”
Though as Janta Ka Reporter and Professor Marandi are always quick to remind the world, there seems to be no limit to the ability of the West to assign “orientalist” stupidity to an Iran that demonstrates time and time again, anything but. And so the question is asked.
Indeed, the BRICS News post had zero information, but when the morning headlines were reporting the quake hit Tehran, with many still positing the question “Is this a nuclear Iran” it seemed to answer itself.
But as Janta Ka Reporter and Professor Marandi (among others) are constantly reminding us, large swaths of Western media a quick to assign an “orientalist” ignorance to an Iran consistently demonstrating the opposite, so remain unsurprised that the headlines can be so self-contradictory. And of course drama feeds a news cycle.
Regardless, my tiny hope is that the initial report might at least flickered that lightbulb on in some of the dim rooms in the skulls of US admin officials who seem so cavalier when the talk fantasy limited strategic nuking.
Iran is two weeks away from having a nuke /s
New earthquake hits Iran as Khatami denies Bam disaster caused by nuclear test
Published December 31st, 2003 – 02:00 GMT
https://www.albawaba.com/news/new-earthquake-hits-iran-khatami-denies-bam-disaster-caused-nuclear-test
Nuclear subsurface explosions have very specific signatures on earthquake recording devices that are totally different than actual earthquakes.
Can’t hide them.
This one is 10km deep. Which is way deeper than you can drill a hole big enough to lower a bomb into.
A couple of random thought, Trump now has a force of 20,000 well armed brownshirts who have been told they have total immunity and the fate of Jonathan Ross shows that to be true, at least for the moment.
Trump has promised to pardon all the members of his administration, a lot of them have been depending on that happening…and they must be getting very uneasy.
Who has custody of the auto pen?
Whoever it is suddenly has a lot of friends.
But what happens if he keels over before he has a chance to sign any of those pardons? He’s pretty old and does not look healthy. I would imagine that all those members of his administration would be frightened silly that this could happen any day of the week.
The US’s only way out and save face is for Trump to be JFKed. That allows a diplomatic reset, but doesn’t solve the problem that Isr won’t let any agreement stand that keeps Iran’s current status quo in terms of regional control.
I agree that Israel seems to be the one calling the shots here. I can’t understand why Iran stopped attacking them & is honoring that aspect of the ceasefire. Last year (June ’25) it seemed to me Iran ignored US bases around the Gulf and went after Israel directly the entire time, and that forced a ceasefire.
Of course, I’m just following what I see in the news and on twitter, but prior to the ceasefire I was seeing pretty regular posts from people claiming to show Iranian strikes on Israeli soil, and those have completely ended with the ceasefire.
I wonder if this time the Iranians are playing a longer game, in that they don’t actually want things to end anytime soon? their control of the Strait & resulting leverage in negotiations gets more and more valuable as the supplies of oil and everything else dwindle.
But what happens if he keels over before he has a chance to sign any of those pardons?
Autopen to save the day? A bit of nunc pro tunc on the ol’ signature and date line and you’re good to go… ;-)
A document signed post mortem with an Autopen might make for some interesting legal challenges.
Zombie King Don, back from the grave to continue his reign?
Fellow Chris, we live in excitingly biblical times. So why not have this play out according to a revelation?
Godmode// And the lamb called Bondi called 7 times, and behold!, the Golden Statue raised its mighty and very large hands to use a golden pen to sign the most beautiful pardons ever, no one under the earth or over the earth had ever seen such pardons, the people assembled said the signature was also beautiful. Very beautiful.
Then little Marco and JD prayed to the statue that it would deliver us from Cuba, and the statue grew in size and strode llike colossus across Florida to the ocean but then collapsed on the beach because gold is heavy and the shoreline reconstruction had not been funded. But Lo, after many contractors had been bribed the statue rose again and walked towards Cuba to smite the new forever enemy of the world. And Kash Patel looked up from his cup with many drunken eyes and said, “this is good brah”. And it was. Amen.
Let me see if I can get this right…written humor can be a lot tougher than verbal.
“Ouija believe it???? The autopen signed the pardons on its own!”
ETA: Meh. Not my best work. I may need to go back to phone call jokes, though I’m not sure if Yves was approving or disapproving…
The most interesting piece of info I e seen of late is the admitted 39 destroyed aircraft.
Is that number accurate, if anything it’s low.
Where in the list?
How many more damaged, or severely damaged?
What % is that of all the aircraft in theater?
If Iran has improved and increased its anti aircraft capabilities as many have suggested, that 39 could increase dramatically
DJ Gorbachev has you covered:
The kitchen’s confirmed list: twenty-four MQ-9s, two F-35As, one MQ-4C Triton, six to seven F-15s of which three to four are US and three to four are evangelical Disney World F-15I Ra’am, two MC-130Js, two KC-135s, one E-3G Sentry, one A-10C, two to four MH-6 Little Birds. Plus the Kohgiluyeh airframe the kitchen reads as F-35 through the eight-link forensic chain and the empire labels F-15E in its official count. Iran claims seven F-15s. The empire’s count is four. The difference is the F-15I Ra’am the empire cannot count without naming the customer.
https://x.com/donaldgorbachev/status/2054325335198671335
Even with many of the aircraft being drones, I would guess there were also more USian humans destroyed along with the hardware than what has been admitted to so far.
Wikipedia lists forty-five (45) U.S. aircraft destroyed as I read it, with and additional eleven (11) damaged, or fifty-six (56) total (link)
The list includes drones and helicopters. Of those 45 losses, 25 were MQ-9 Reapers.
One F-35 is in the list, but reported as “damaged” only. Four (4) F-15s lost. I guess the 3 over Kuwait, and the one that lead to the massive rescue effort that may have been cover for an actual raid.
Not clear what “damaged” means. I assume that means it’s not a total loss, and can be repaired and fly again.
Either way, that’s higher than the number disclosed in that congressional hearing.
Army cuts training as service is short billions of dollars
https://abcnews.com/Politics/army-cuts-training-service-short-billions-dollars/story
Trump Refuses to Rule Out Troops or ICE at Polls: ‘I’d do anything necessary’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-elections-midterms-ice-polling-stations-b2975317.html
Putin’s cruise missiles are sitting 30 miles off the UK. And Russia won’t move them
https://inews.co.uk/news/putins-cruise-missiles-are-sitting-30-miles-off-the-uk-and-russia-wont-move-them-4411612
Israeli defense-tech company secures $10.7 million contract with US to supply AI-powered system
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-895971
How many thousnds of nuclear bombs does the USA have ?
Why do americans think its okay for them to have thousands of nuclear bombs but Iran cannot have one ?
Is the USA allowed to have lots of nuclear bombs because its safe for them to have them and do you really beleive its safe for them to have them given that they are the only country to actually have already dropped some on another country namely Japan and if you answered yes to any of these questions do you rhink you are sane ?
Well, you might want to look at the 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and the list of signatories.
https://treaties.unoda.org/t/npt
The answer is there.
That might explain why the US thinks it’s OK, but it does not make it so. Especially given the way the more recent ‘rules based order’ doctrine has usurped the need for the US to even keep up the appearance of abiding by any treaties whatsoever.
Who signed for the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1968? The Shah?
Good of him to do us that solid.
Since the use of the first two on Japan 80 years ago, this number infers an annual U.S. production of 65.
https://www.icanw.org/united_states
If I’m in Iran’s shoes my opening and ONLY position is that “We will agree to all nuclear inspections that Israel does and not one more”.
That tweet regarding empty shelves in the engine lubricant department, damn. A cursory tour of the web shows this rumor/news is spreading quickly. This can only accelerate the process, what with stockpiling being recommended by pretty much everyone.
I’m certainly thinking of picking up a few cases, just in case my next oil change is a BYOB affair.
I bought enough for my next oil change (i do my own) perhaps i should buy enough for next three oil changes.
Thank you both. I would advise picking up the corresponding filters as well. BYOB is a good analogy.
I bought another 5 quart jug on your recommendation! This should hold me for awhile.
Store seemed to still have plenty of oil.
A quick look around the camp for a personal Hormuz lubricants risk assessment.
Fuel and bar oil for the chainsaw, power pole-saw and trimmer.
Fuel and oil for the generator.
Spray lube
Sewing machine oil
Fuel for the cheese fondue thingy
Even EV’s need lubricants; wheel bearings, (power) steering, gear train, etc.
Israel steps up attacks on Gaza since Iran truce, as military says Hamas rearming
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-steps-up-attacks-gaza-since-iran-truce-military-says-hamas-rearming-2026-05-13/
Israel is worried that Trump will strike a ‘bad deal’ with Iran, leaving war objectives unmet
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/12/middleeast/israel-iran-us-nuclear-deal-trump-intl
Linguistic workaround allows Marco Rubio, sanctioned by Beijing, to travel to China for the first time
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/marco-rubio-china-visit-new-character-name-trump-summit
China Draws Four Red Lines In Ties With US Ahead Of Trump-Xi Summit
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-draws-four-red-lines-in-ties-with-us-ahead-of-trump-xi-summit-11488569
E.U. puts sanctions on Israeli settlers after Hungary drops Orban’s veto
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/05/11/eu-israel-settler-sanctions/
UK promises jets, drones and warship for Strait of Hormuz defence mission
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y909grldqo
Saudi Arabia launched covert attacks on Iran [in late March] as regional war widened
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/saudi-arabia-launched-covert-attacks-iran-regional-war-widened-sources-2026-05-12/
‘UK promises jets, drones and warship for Strait of Hormuz defence mission’
More than 40 other nations are involved in the mission, which Healey said would begin when conditions allow.
Defence from who?
Americky has declared the blockade.
40 other nations, got to include Luxembourg, maybe monaco too, when conditions allow.
Maybe Trump thinks this is all just a nightmare, and he is patiently waiting to wake up.
“Trump had one of his worst mental health episodes yet last night, posting over 55 times in 3 hours.” [Harry Sisson, Twitter]
John Helmer, on Nima’s Dialogue Works, looking at President Trump’s various recent responses to events, makes an unequivocal case* for Trump having a “disordered mind”—in Helmer’s view, Trump is cognitively incapable of understanding the points made by the Iranian side, and is getting worse.
That, to me, might be scarier than Trump’s propensity for dominance and “winning”—and, of course, nothing says they’re mutually exclusive.
*That is, Helmers is clear and definitive about it, not that he is necessarily correct.
MAGA evangelical “leaders” gathered at Mar-a-Lago and conducted a full public golden calf ritual blessing and dedicating a literal gold statue of Donald Trump as if he were a divine figure.
Pharoah much? Trump has managed to turn himself into a cartoon tyrant straight out of the Old Testament.
Who will respond to the golden calf with a statue of a filthy pig?
Isreal is a freakin’ pressure cooker:
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjre64rrwx
“IDF chief warns lawmakers that army ‘will fall apart’ without additional soldiers”
Right-wing leaders eyes are bigger than the country’s stomach for war.
This has been discussed for at least a month. It is more about the ongoing Haredi draft bill + up coming election than anything else. The first reading of the bill to dissolve the Knesset over the Haredi parties withdrawing from the governing coalition is now scheduled for next week. same issue in general as referenced by Yves in the post with my comments from yesterday
Didn’t see that, but my take was that it went well beyond the Haredi issue–which is, yes, highly divisive–to the challenges of prosecuting a war in a deteriorating social and constrained logistical/resource environment. Endless expansionistic fervor on the part of the leadership parts more and more with the exigencies on the field. As that great sage Bill Clinton (ha) once said, you can invade a country, but you will never have enough soldiers to guard every angry opponent you create. Something like that.
The question of just how much and what kind of mess Israel is is an interesting one. On the one hand, you do have ca. 50% of the polity who may hold a seder but doesn’t even consider itself religious–would love to think itself urbane in the way of, say, people in central Europe. On the other hand, you have had a killing frenzy that continues.
Do you have any sense of why there is resistance among this population to serving in the IDF? These orthodox people certainly don’t mind abusing Palestinians. The settlers obvious don’t have any problems with guns or causing a ruckus. So why the backlash against serving the state?
There has been an exemption (and small living support stipend) for yeshiva students since Israel was founded but in the beginning the number of exemptions was very small because the percentage of Israelis who were Haredim was relatively small. This has changed. The haredim breed like rabbits and the men do not work (the wives are the wage earners). They are often living in extreme poverty. It is assumed state welfare support through children is part of their income strategy. There is also now a massive economy built around them for things like the settler project even though the visibly haredi groups are not usually the settlers (they are difficult to control directly). Social services, schools, housing assistance groups, etc. the Kahanist parties grew a lot of their power base through providing social and settlement support to the fringes of the Haredim communities, especially those in the non visible sects (big hats, side curls, 1800s clothes – those are the visible haredi sects, they have their own very tightly closed community support groups). When Netanyahu managed to form a government after 5 tries in 2022 forming with the Kahanist and the ultra Orthodox religious parties was a desperate act of self preservation and they used that leverage to their advantage to further deepen the split between the seculars and the orthodox by things like school systems and Friday transit closures. Throwing gasoline on the fire after years of secular vs Netanyahu (center right) protests.
There has never been much love between the seculars and the Haredim and it is because they don’t serve in the IDF like the seculars do but the existential crises since 2023 has kicked this into overdrive. As one secular said to me, “I ask them, what do you do for me? I served three years in the army for you, I pay taxes to support you while you don’t work, why should I do that and you don’t? And they tell me it’s fair because they pray for me!”
Thanks for that raspberry jam. The way that I heard it, one third of Israelis serve in the IDF, one third pay taxes to support the state and one third fill all the administrative & bureaucratic positions to keep the state running. Unfortunately it is all the same third.
I don’t think the thirds approach reflects reality, sorry.
It was originally an Israeli joke that I heard many years ago. No doubt a secular joke. :)
News You Can Use:
How to Refine Used Motor Oil at Home: DIY Guide
https://carobjective.com/how-to-refine-used-motor-oil-at-home/
Various types of synthetic motor oil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil
re:refining used oil diy.
thifs is definitely do-able, but there aint enough detail in that article for to undertake this endeavor safely or efficiently.
at least the distilling process.
the filtering would be simple.
still gotta get rid of the stuff you filter out, though.
filtering is likely enough to get a few more oil changes out of a given batch of oil, though.
for the distilling, though…needs more work, and more info.
anyone who has made likker can prolly tackle it.
ive probably got the pipe and tanks and such on hand to build a workable distillary.
i reckon, however, that i will again concentrate my efforts along these lines on toilet paper from newsprint and soap from used cooking oils and fats and woodlye.
i am much more familiar with the chemistry and physics and engineering of all that, than i am with petroleum products.
i figger that brandy from all these now wild grapes(as in i dont even water them,lol…they just do their thing and i am covered up with grapes every year) would be a rather simple thing to set up…and a good trade item, too.
perhaps some kind of sticky post/thread of this sort of diy stuff for post-collapse would be a good thing?
We’re getting likkered up and playing with volatile petrochemicals and open flames? You through a mean party, amfortas! Wish I could swing thru.
I’m dusting off the bicycles and reviving them to working order, just in case they’re still selling beer down in the town center even after the Subaru bricks.
Go long beeswax.
Peace
Good idea Amfortas.
President Trump will be remembered as the greatest American President of all time for Iranians. Its looking like they are going to end up with the Straight of Hormuz AND nukes, and America out of the ME! Partial credit to Bibi and Mossad for the assist, Trump would never have been able to get past his own goalie and score an own goal without their assistance.
The recap on this site by YS is appreciated. Optics are interesting: Online, Page 1, Global Times (China news) Trump is depoicted exiting air Force One on his own – an image of a totally solitary & isolated figure. Online Page 1, WaPo, Trump is depicted on the red carpet looking as if he were royalty arriving! Take your pick.
My viepoint keeps asking: what is Iran’s operational strategy and how is the US responding to it? First: The neutralization of the Arabian Pennisula. For the US to prevent Iran’s control of the Straits of Hormuz would take a massive land invasion that would conquer Iran and defeat Iran’s military. This doesn’t seem possible. Iran has taken a direct approach on securing the Persian Gulf. The US doesn’t seem to have a viable option to alter. Second: The neutralization of Israel. Iran seems to be taking both a direct and indirect approach. Hezbollah has ‘fixed’ Israel’s ground forces. Indirectly, Iran has been chokling off Israel’s supply lines via the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, has been threatening supply lines with direct missile attacks, and is in the process of weakening the US alliance with Israelt by collapsing domestic support of the Trump Administration via the prospect (reality of more) of high gas prices and inflation (sayanora 401K plans). Third: The collapse of US domestic support of the Trump Administration via paralysis of the decision making ability of Trump (as goes l’etat, c’est moi, so goes the steering of the ship) the collapse of domestic support via the prospect of inflation and high fuel prices, and the linking of Trump’s actions to Netanyahu’s apparent influence. The US’s only remedy would be a strategic retreat to put the US First instead of Israel and start addressing US economic issues rationallyASAP. In addition this would mean reorienting the US ties to Israel, something which neither party seems willing to do
The three pronged Iranian strategy has put the US in a defensive position which if not addressed soon will be harder to manage at a later date. (Iran becomes the dominant power in the area of the Persian Gulf, Israel may find itself in an internally conflicted position, and the US will have lost world wide influence and will experience long term economic turmoil.
“Donhammed Trumpistan” – ROTFLMAO. Great name
Russian parliament passes bill allowing Putin to invade foreign countries
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-parliament-passes-bill-allowing-vladimir-putin-invade-foreign-countries/
Netanyahu made secret visit to UAE to meet with country’s president
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/netanyahu-united-arab-emirates-mbz/
Israel’s government is expected to collapse over ultra-Orthodox military draft
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/12/g-s1-121631/israel-military-ultra-orthodox-netanyahu-coalition
Chinese oil tanker exits Strait of Hormuz, stops at Gulf of Oman, data shows
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinese-supertanker-attempts-hormuz-passage-data-show-2026-05-13/
Austrian jets intercept US military planes two days in a
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/05/13/austrian-jets-intercept-unauthorized-us-military-planes-two-days-in-a-row/
Trump posts graphic of Venezuela as 51st U.S. state
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/trump-posts-graphic-of-venezuela-as-51st-us-state/
As the U.S. starves it of oil, Cuba is pulling off one of the fastest solar revolutions on the planet
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/as-the-us-starves-it-of-oil-cuba-is-pulling-off-one-of-the-fastest-solar-revolutions-on-the-planet-with-chinas-help/
Personal Phones Left Behind: Trump Arrives In China Under Strict Digital Lockdown Protocols
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-officials-digital-security-trump-china-visit-1796639
Record number of Americans are leaving the country and renouncing their citizenship for good, report says
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/americans-leaving-citizenship-emigration-trump-b2975395.html
Trump Admits He Wrecked the Economy
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-admits-he-wrecked-the-economy
President Trump’s Approval on Inflation Is Now Worse Than President Biden’s Ever Was
https://www.cato.org/blog/trumps-approval-inflation-now-worse-bidens-ever-was
Donald Trump keeps making America’s enemies look stronger
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-china-taiwan-iran-allies-xi-jinping-trade-war-b2975618.html
thanks for all you do, Ann.
regarding leaving fones behind:
FTA:”Former Secret Service special agent Bill Gage told Fox News, ‘China is a mass surveillance state. Briefings for US officials begin well before the president arrives, and they make clear that everything is monitored.’ Gage is now Safehaven Security Group’s director of executive protection.
Cybersecurity firm Fortalice Solutions CEO Theresa Payton, who used to be the chief information officer for the White House, said officials advised travellers to behave as though all conversations and digital activity could be subject to monitoring, urging them to exercise caution in both online and face-to-face interactions.
‘We always tell people to assume everything you say and do — both in person and digitally — could be monitored. And to conduct themselves accordingly,’ she stated.
…is said as if the usa were somehow different,lol…that evil china, reading all yer emails.
silly.
Thanks Ann!
I have to admit, I’m going to be watching this to judge how Trump’s visit is going:
Chinese Oil Tanker Tests Safe Passage Through Strait of Hormuz
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chinese-Oil-Tanker-Tests-Safe-Passage-Through-Strait-of-Hormuz.html
The funny thing is I would not be shocked if Putin and Xi don’t announce a big oil and gas deal when Putin visits China after trump:
Putin says Russia is close to a ‘serious’ gas and oil deal with China
https://cryptobriefing.com/russia-china-gas-oil-deal-pipeline/
And I would not be shocked if an Iran/Pakistan/China pipeline is also announced sometime after Trump’s visit:
Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline remains stalled under cloud of sanctions
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-pakistan-gas-pipeline-remains-stalled-under-cloud-sanctions-2024-04-24/
i also want to express my thanks, ann. i really appreciate the links.
Since we’re now at Golden Calf levels of ridiculous behavior, here’s an oldie but goodie from the earlier days of the internet.
Apocamon!
Dimitri L. a couple of new posts… broadcasting from Greece.
I guess it’s a silly thing to be curious about, but I always wondered if his background is Greek Greek or Greek Russian (I realize that the man himself is a Canadian.) If the latter, I imagine that he’d likely have particular ties to the Black Sea coastal regions on top of everything else…
John Fetterman Single-Handedly Tanks Effort to Rein Trump in on Iran
https://newrepublic.com/post/210380/john-fetterman-tanks-war-powers-donald-trump-iran
Alabama woman sues alleging she gave birth on prison floor as guards watched
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/alabama-prison-birth-lawsuit
[The details on the prison birth story are horrific. Is this what the US is now?]
Vance announces suspension of $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/vance-announces-suspension-medicaid-payments-california-fraud-rcna344988
A judge told Musk he was not excused from trial. He went to China with Trump anyway.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-musk/musk-flies-china-trump-ongoing-openai-trial-rcna344981
Trump Secretly Stashed ‘If I Die’ Letter in Drawer, Aide Says
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-secretly-stashed-if-i-die-letter-in-drawer-sebastian-gorka-says/
‘Alabama woman sues alleging she gave birth on prison floor as guards watched’
The lawsuit alleges failures.
Filed in the middle district of Alabama, the lawsuit argues that the events stemmed from a series of failures at the Houston county jail, including what it describes as a system where local officials focused on reducing costs instead of providing proper inmate care.
It sounds more like a deliberate policy of sheer nastiness.
Kathy Youngblood, a former deputy at the jail who is also a defendant in the lawsuit, described the incident as “barbaric” in an interview with NBC News.
“I tried to help her, but I was told I was going to be fired if I did help her, so I could not assist,” Youngblood told the outlet.
Another Alabama woman who claimed she was forced to give birth without any medical help in a jail shower settled a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county last year. Pregnancy Justice, who also handled that case, said it showed “a disturbing pattern of inhumane treatment” for pregnant women in the state who are held on Chemical Endangerment of a Child charges for alleged drug use.
RE: Cuba’s solar revolution
Dispersing the solar(PV) parks around the island? While PV Parks are durable, Cuba is in a hurricane alley: high winds and dense rain. Multiple parks create options when a hurricane arrives and causes damage.
The next step for Cuba is to focus on local stand alone systems for essential services (Hospitals/Stores/School/Gov.) to get them further along in the crisis and sustain itself while the fossil fuel wars wane.
Then they can focus on smaller PV systems for housing (lights/comm./appliance) with battery back-up. Voila!. Emerging as a world leader in reducing carbon to the atmosphere. (Que te jodan, Gringo.)
ICE puts new restrictions on members of Congress inspecting detention centers
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2026-05-12/ice-immigration-congress-detention-centers-oversight
3 Republicans Join Democrats in Closest Senate Vote Yet to Halt Iran War
https://time.com/article/2026/05/13/iran-war-vote-senate-murkowski-closest-vote-yet/
President Trump is getting his fourth medical checkup since last year | Trump, who turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president, will see his doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, the White House said.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/trump-fourth-medical-checkup-since-2025/4022499/
Israel Prepares to Prosecute First Suspects in Oct. 7 Attack Led by Hamas
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/world/middleeast/israel-oct-7-prosecutions-palestinians-trial.html
Trump Team Threatens to Withhold Medicaid Funds from All States
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/trump-team-threatens-to-withhold-medicaid-funds-from-all-states
The President may settle his own lawsuit with your money
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/the-president-may-settle-his-own-lawsuit-with-your-money/
How US donor bodies were sold for Israeli military training
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/the-take-2/2026/5/13/aje-onl-tt_usa_israelcadavers_v4-130526
‘Rush Hour 4’ Director Brett Ratner Reportedly Heading to China With Trump to Scout Locations
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/rush-hour-4-director-brett-ratner-china-trip-trump-1236747014/
Israel concerned Trump will strike Iran deal ‘with last-minute concessions’
https://www.the-independent.com/bulletin/news/israel-trump-iran-deal-strait-of-hormuz-b2976068.html
Rand Paul’s Son William Hurled Antisemitic Insults at Rep. Mike Lawler
https://www.notus.org/congress/william-paul-mike-lawler-confrontation-antisemitism
RFK Jr.’s Teen Sperm Comments Send The Internet Spiraling
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-jr-teen-sperm-counts_n_6a03a1fce4b0cdaf88dbfca3
Trump’s China Policy Has Weakened America
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/opinion/trump-arrives-china-xi-beijing.html
China gains major edge on U.S. amid Iran war, intelligence report finds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/13/china-gains-major-edge-us-amid-iran-war-us-intelligence-finds/