BREAKING: France is sending 10 warships to the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump called on countries to join the US Navy in attempting to reopen the key passage.
The UK has declined to deploy an aircraft carrier.
11/11 President Trump's message was unmistakable: "Should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider" sparing the oil infrastructure. Iran's 3-4% of global supply is dispensable. The 20% [of global oil] flowing through Hormuz is not. That's the calculus behind every strike on Kharg.
So much NOOM, the love of having a party at a time of war.
Whilst you have gone up in my estimation for staying in the sandpit and not running back home at taxpayer expense and complaining (so well done you), I can't help thinking that "at a time of war" usually involves more blood and rubble and less cocktails...
😎
Did you mean *fewer* cocktails?
🍸
Some fools argue over whether the glass is half empty or half full.
I say both are wrong.
The sensible *question* is "Whose round is it?"
It’s a free bar!
Come to Dubai for the all-inclusive deals!
"Head back to base for debriefing and cocktails!"
Just realised the entire RAF will turn up in Dubai, shortly. No way they will pass on cheap 5 star hotels and free cocktails.
The old joke told to me by a retired RAF Squadron Leader.
All three services have an affinity with the stars
The Army sleep under the stars The Navy navigate by the stars And the RAF use stars to decide which hotel to stay in.
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest Uncoffined—just as found: His landmark is a kopje-crest That breaks the veldt around; And foreign constellations west Each night above his mound.
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew— Fresh from his Wessex home— The meaning of the broad Karoo, The Bush, the dusty loam, And why uprose to nightly view Strange stars amid the gloam.
Yet portion of that unknown plain Will Hodge for ever be; His homely Northern breast and brain Grow up a Southern tree, And strange-eyed constellations reign His stars eternally.
🇮🇱🇺🇦Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has requested a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss cooperation in drone defense due to Ukraine's extensive experience in this sector, Ynet reported.
🇮🇱🇺🇦Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has requested a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss cooperation in drone defense due to Ukraine's extensive experience in this sector, Ynet reported.
I only hope that he will reciprocate, once he's ended his war of choice, and help Ukraine in its war of defence against Russia.
🇮🇱🇺🇦Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has requested a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss cooperation in drone defense due to Ukraine's extensive experience in this sector, Ynet reported.
I only hope that he will reciprocate, once he's ended his war of choice, and help Ukraine in its war of defence against Russia.
🇮🇱🇺🇦Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has requested a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss cooperation in drone defense due to Ukraine's extensive experience in this sector, Ynet reported.
How many fingers has this version of Bibi.
The one seen on 12th March had 6 on each hand and Grok is refusing to answer why.
So much NOOM, the love of having a party at a time of war.
Whilst you have gone up in my estimation for staying in the sandpit and not running back home at taxpayer expense and complaining (so well done you), I can't help thinking that "at a time of war" usually involves more blood and rubble and less cocktails...
😎
Did you mean *fewer* cocktails?
🍸
Some fools argue over whether the glass is half empty or half full.
I say both are wrong.
The sensible *question* is "Whose round is it?"
It’s a free bar!
Come to Dubai for the all-inclusive deals!
"Head back to base for debriefing and cocktails!"
Just realised the entire RAF will turn up in Dubai, shortly. No way they will pass on cheap 5 star hotels and free cocktails.
The old joke told to me by a retired RAF Squadron Leader.
All three services have an affinity with the stars
The Army sleep under the stars The Navy navigate by the stars And the RAF use stars to decide which hotel to stay in.
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest Uncoffined—just as found: His landmark is a kopje-crest That breaks the veldt around; And foreign constellations west Each night above his mound.
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew— Fresh from his Wessex home— The meaning of the broad Karoo, The Bush, the dusty loam, And why uprose to nightly view Strange stars amid the gloam.
Yet portion of that unknown plain Will Hodge for ever be; His homely Northern breast and brain Grow up a Southern tree, And strange-eyed constellations reign His stars eternally.
That is fantastic. Cheers Sir.
The incomparable Hardy more than any other poet can move grown men to tears. And he wrote his greatest stuff when over 70.
In other words, Washington now faces three difficult paths: end the conflict under conditions that may allow Iran to claim a strategic victory; continue the current campaign and risk prolonged instability and rising global energy prices; or expand the war and trigger a major regional escalation.
Time is not neutral in this equation. Each passing day hardens Tehran’s perception that it can withstand the pressure and emerge from the crisis with the upper hand.
(part of a longer tweet on where the US now stands strategically)
What remains astonishing is that this was blindingly obvious in advance to anyone who spent a couple of minutes thinking about how this was likely to develop. Just brainless.
So, where do we go from here? I think Hormuz will be impassable without Iranian permission for months unless the US invades and secures the opposite bank. This will bring US forces within range for a lot more of Iran's arsenal. Casualties will be 20 or more to 1 given US air and missile power but my guess is that Iran can much more easily absorb 100k-500k casualties than Trump can endure 5-25k. This is a country that sustained up to 1m casualties in their war with Saddam.
Trying to capture and then hold a country of more than 90m would take far more troops than the US has. They can destroy a lot of the country, they can impose Gaza style carnage but it is really not obvious how they actually win. There may come a point when Trump wants to talk about Epstein instead.
Again, this is why I genuinely fear it could gio nuclear. That may be the only way for Trump to convincingly defeat the Tehran regime, which clearly - and rightly - sees this war as existential for the Mullahs and the IRGC
How might it work? Perhaps two or three smaller "tactical" nukes on military sites, at first, with the clear implication that Trump is willing to flatten Tehran if needs be
They would surrender. But the world would be hurled into hideous turmoil....
I would imagine there are a few things just short of nuclear that could be done.
Like what? No way America is gonna do a ground invasion. They'd quite possibly lose, for a start
Japan 1945 shows you can defeat a totally hostile, entirely committed, fight-to-the-death enemy, and you can do it from the air. If you use nukes
It wasn't just the nukes, though. (Although they were the final coup de grace.)
It was also the submarine blockade of Japan, that meant that people were starving to death. And it was the fact that the bulk of Japan's army was stuck in China.
Don't forget too, that peace was only agreed -even after the nukes- when the US agreed that Hirohito could continue as Emperor. Without that concession, the war might have dragged on even longer.
To get an idea of the fun that 1946 was going to be- the rice harvest in Japan had failed. So the plan of the Japanese military was to literally remove all supplies from the civilians. And turn the civilians into an impromptu suicide army. Armed with bamboo spears.
So between starving to death and charging at the invaders with a slight upgrade on sharp fruit....
A little known fact is that immediately after the surrender, the Americas started pouring food supplies into Japan. Even so, winter 1945 was a tough time for the civilians.
We focus on the 250k killed by the atomic bombs on Nagaski and Hiroshima but, had the war not ended then, you could have counted Japanese fatalities into 1946 into the millions.
The other factor, besides no food, no oil, firebombed and nuked cities, was a million strong Red Army ready to destroy the Japanese Army in Manchuria.
BREAKING: France is sending 10 warships to the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump called on countries to join the US Navy in attempting to reopen the key passage.
The UK has declined to deploy an aircraft carrier.
The US government underwriting insurance of any cargo vessel or tanker would probably be of more value.
To save me answering the same question, all politicians lie. Boris was an inveterate liar. But I have never seen a Prime Minister who has combined such extensive lying with such a broad and un-self-aware attempt to frame themself as a paragon of virtue, as Keir Starmer.
Rachel Reeves: “I have found the money and we’ve worked through with MPs and others a response for people who are not protected by the energy price cap,” she told The Times.
State of things - You can hit an oil tanker with a $50K drone - This will get cheaper - Any nation state can do this if they are mad at either the buyer or the seller of the oil - Increasingly non-states can also do this - Oil producing countries are involved in a diverse litany of beefs
This all seems very good for the prospects of dealing with the climate crisis and very very bad for the world economy.
State of things - You can hit an oil tanker with a $50K drone - This will get cheaper - Any nation state can do this if they are mad at either the buyer or the seller of the oil - Increasingly non-states can also do this - Oil producing countries are involved in a diverse litany of beefs
This all seems very good for the prospects of dealing with the climate crisis and very very bad for the world economy.
State of things - You can hit an oil tanker with a $50K drone - This will get cheaper - Any nation state can do this if they are mad at either the buyer or the seller of the oil - Increasingly non-states can also do this - Oil producing countries are involved in a diverse litany of beefs
This all seems very good for the prospects of dealing with the climate crisis and very very bad for the world economy.
If Just Stop Oil attempted to impose an oil embargo on the UK by hitting oil tankers I would be very surprised.
I think the point of the police members of these groups is to divert them to less effective actions.
Rachel Reeves: “I have found the money and we’ve worked through with MPs and others a response for people who are not protected by the energy price cap,” she told The Times.
It was down the back of the sofa
The magic money tree forest is amazing when it can bear fruit.
State of things - You can hit an oil tanker with a $50K drone - This will get cheaper - Any nation state can do this if they are mad at either the buyer or the seller of the oil - Increasingly non-states can also do this - Oil producing countries are involved in a diverse litany of beefs
This all seems very good for the prospects of dealing with the climate crisis and very very bad for the world economy.
It seems excellent news for fracking to me.
I agree.
Buying sharing in US fracking companies could be a goldmine if this continues.
...Or did you mean you mean the country 2.5% of the size of the US that is much more densely populated and no proven economic fracking reserves suddenly starting to become competitive?
Rachel Reeves: “I have found the money and we’ve worked through with MPs and others a response for people who are not protected by the energy price cap,” she told The Times.
It was down the back of the sofa
The beauty [insanity?] of the fiscal framework adopted by British chancellors from Osborne onwards [Kwarteng recruited, who was even less sane] is that they can spend whatever they want, as long as they show that they will balance the books [sort of] in year four, or five.
So a temporary massive bill for energy support is fine, because it only increases the interest bill in year four by a bit.
To save me answering the same question, all politicians lie. Boris was an inveterate liar. But I have never seen a Prime Minister who has combined such extensive lying with such a broad and un-self-aware attempt to frame themself as a paragon of virtue, as Keir Starmer.
It's not the desire. It's the root delusion of grasping at the illusion of a fixed, solid, unchanging "I" which causes attraction to some objects and aversion to others to arise. When given inappropriate attention, this leads to attachment or hatred which gives rise to negative or harmful actions of body, speech and mind, thus sowing the seeds for future suffering and uncontrolled rebirth in Samsara. Our addiction to oil is merely one manifestation of this.
But I appreciate you'd need a bigger cartoon for that.
To save me answering the same question, all politicians lie. Boris was an inveterate liar. But I have never seen a Prime Minister who has combined such extensive lying with such a broad and un-self-aware attempt to frame themself as a paragon of virtue, as Keir Starmer.
As I have said before, Boris lied in a bashful, 'boy in the headmaster's office after being caught with a catapult' way - with a wink and nod and no eye contact. He was a fairly frequent liar but he was never a good one.
Starmer is a different order of liar - an angry liar who looks you in the face and demands that you believe his lies, or at least pretend that you do. He reminds me of an aggressive alcoholic or drug addict who refuses to acknowledge they have an issue and gets angry when they're accused. He's a gaslighter.
'They know where I am' - Harry Redknapp talking about possible return to manage Spurs
Nico Krancjer, Crouchy, Hermann Hreiðarsson, get your boots on.
Well Neil Warnock has taken over at, I believe, Torquay United.
Fucking crook
Him and Kevin Bond
Ruin football Clubs
John Bond ?
Kevin Bond is John's son.
One of my best memories is when John Bond managed Blues, we beat the Vile 3 0 at Vile Park with Billy Wright reserve centre half playing up front with Steve Whitton
Kevin was Harry assistant in his short spell at Blues
Comments
They can't win now? Am I missing something?
60 minute team at the moment
Him and Kevin Bond
Ruin football Clubs
https://x.com/archer83able/status/2032880135536283726
🇮🇱🇺🇦Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has requested a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss cooperation in drone defense due to Ukraine's extensive experience in this sector, Ynet reported.
Allez les bleus!
Having to support England would have been difficult.
But Abu Dhabi do!
The one seen on 12th March had 6 on each hand and Grok is refusing to answer why.
To save me answering the same question, all politicians lie. Boris was an inveterate liar. But I have never seen a Prime Minister who has combined such extensive lying with such a broad and un-self-aware attempt to frame themself as a paragon of virtue, as Keir Starmer.
https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2032870479795528056?s=20
A proposed solution to the Hormuz problem...
https://bsky.app/profile/existentialcomics.com/post/3mgzwbcb3m22g
It was down the back of the sofa
https://kyivindependent.com/greek-oil-tanker-in-russian-waters-hit-in-suspected-drone-strike/
State of things
- You can hit an oil tanker with a $50K drone
- This will get cheaper
- Any nation state can do this if they are mad at either the buyer or the seller of the oil
- Increasingly non-states can also do this
- Oil producing countries are involved in a diverse litany of beefs
This all seems very good for the prospects of dealing with the climate crisis and very very bad for the world economy.
https://x.com/i/status/2032811240163090842
I think the point of the police members of these groups is to divert them to less effective actions.
treeforest is amazing when it can bear fruit.Buying sharing in US fracking companies could be a goldmine if this continues.
...Or did you mean you mean the country 2.5% of the size of the US that is much more densely populated and no proven economic fracking reserves suddenly starting to become competitive?
So a temporary massive bill for energy support is fine, because it only increases the interest bill in year four by a bit.
It's the root delusion of grasping at the illusion of a fixed, solid, unchanging "I" which causes attraction to some objects and aversion to others to arise. When given inappropriate attention, this leads to attachment or hatred which gives rise to negative or harmful actions of body, speech and mind, thus sowing the seeds for future suffering and uncontrolled rebirth in Samsara.
Our addiction to oil is merely one manifestation of this.
But I appreciate you'd need a bigger cartoon for that.
I was at Fairford the first time the B2 stealth bomber landed outside the US. We were only expecting a low-level fly through. Bloody amazing thing!
Presumably so he can blame them when it is all a total failure.
Starmer is a different order of liar - an angry liar who looks you in the face and demands that you believe his lies, or at least pretend that you do. He reminds me of an aggressive alcoholic or drug addict who refuses to acknowledge they have an issue and gets angry when they're accused. He's a gaslighter.
One of my best memories is when John Bond managed Blues, we beat the Vile 3 0 at Vile Park with Billy Wright reserve centre half playing up front with Steve Whitton
Kevin was Harry assistant in his short spell at Blues