rjshae

Kharg Island was put out of commission during the Iraq-Iran war, so Iran has been through this type of oil shipment denial before. I'm skeptical they will bow to threats to occupy the island or blow it up, when they can effectively keep the Straits of Hormuz closed to oil traffic, then charge a high toll fee. Redacted's other threats to Iran would deal a hardship to the Iranian people, but I doubt it would remove the current government. The longer this war goes on, the greater the time and repairs necessary to get the goods flowing again. It's looking like a pyrrhic victory for the US.

Must be a scarce species these days. Yeaess... Based on a Sting song.

Do you really still expect redacted to apply reason or logic to problems at this point? He has an undisciplined mind and can't even properly communicate his reasons for going to war. We know he has immense difficulty accepting a loss, and nuclear weapons are the ultimate trump card for when events go badly wrong. "But he is not insane" Are you sure about that? He satisfies all criteria for "narcissistic personality disorder" in the DSM-5. There may be other co-morbibity conditions present, but narcissism explains most of his behavior.

During the first term, the redacted cabinet was not quite as fawning, so it seemed like they were able to provide a filter on some of his more extreme decision making. This term his cabinet is mostly bobbleheads, agreeing with wherever his meandering ping pong of thought takes him. That's why we're seeing more bat-sh*t crazy decision making based on his irrational beliefs. I can only hope that doesn't lead to a decision to use nukes. The more frustrated he gets with his inept direction of the war, the greater the urge will be to nuke. Once that happens, all bets are off.

A war of regression: how Trump bombed the US into a worse position with Iran The Guardian has a pretty cynical view of the current conflict, but it's hard to say they're wrong. What a cluster.

I think they still could, just to deny the US access to the Kharg Island oil resources. Or at least threaten to attack any docked tankers.

I think almost every state in the union is subject to some sort of potential natural disaster. We've got hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, wild fires, earthquakes, floods, blizzards, tidal waves, droughts, landslides, dust storms, and so forth. One of the few states that seem a little safe is Michigan, at least until the next ice age.

If redacted does deploy US troops to the small Iranian islands, they are probably going to have to stay there for a lengthy deployment. They will be subject to bombardment from the mainland, plus defending against raids and drones. It could be a steady hemorrhaging from troop fatalities, which will tank public support. I don't see this turning out well.

Note that Russia has been waging a sabotage campaign throughout Europe (including Polish railway lines to Ukraine), summarized here (with citations): Russian sabotage operations in Europe This has intensified since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Mmm, it's about as legitimate as Western sanctions on Iran, wouldn't you say? They are using the Straits as a strategic lever to influence negotiations, just as we do with sanctions on Iran.

Sorry, but in this case I don't see it as cowardice. The conflict between the Sunnis and Shia is older than the US has been in existence. We shouldn't be that surprised that the conflict spilled over into Sunni gulf nations. I'd expect many of the gulf nations are US allies in large part because of Iran. When you attack a nation, you can predict that your allies become fair game. The Sunni Gulf nations provide basing rights for US forces, which also makes them suitable targets.

Trump administration to pay French company $1B to walk away from US offshore wind leases Redacted is still tilting at windmills, I see.

I'm curious to know what you define as a cowardly response? Do they need to physically invade their neighbors for it not to be considered "cowardly"? How does that differ from the US/Israeli aerial bombardment that has killed many civilians?

I think the biggest threat to the world economy, and thus to the US, would be for Iran to attack the major oil production and storage facilities in the Persian Gulf. Doing so could potentially disrupt the flow of oil for several years; redacted will be in office for (at least) three more years, so the timing matches. Does Iran still have the capability to do that? They may see it as an appropriate response for damaging their own economy.

Yes, he adores the attention that being a world-class jerk gains him. Then again I can only imagine what many people's reaction will be when redacted finally goes toes up.

I read the Qatari strike as a pretty clear message from Iran; if you strike Kharg Island, we're taking the rest of the Gulf oil industry down with us. Go ahead, make our day. Redacted, of course, doubles down on his threats. Yes it'll take years for the Gulf oil industry to recover. Brilliant plan this: ready, take aim, shoot foot.

Apparently Av:D and Dune:M are coming out the same week. Dunedoom or Doomessiah. Is this another Barbenheimer or will one of them blink and change dates? They are probably targeting a similar audience, so a change would make sense.

Yes, there's some questionable elements to Kent's background. But his actions seems to be consistent with a pol. who had bought into redacted's prior stance against foreign entanglements. Is redacted's sudden switch an example of how susceptible he is to the right kind of influencers?

DLSS 5 looks so good, in fact, that the narrators don't appear realistic. Are they AI slop? Just wondering... 😏

Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat I'm glad to see somebody in that circle showed moral qualms about redacted's actions. ‘Never heard him so angry’: Trump is furious that global allies aren’t pitching in in Iran Crackpot is angry his fantasy world doesn't match reality? Huh.

Reminds me of an old quote: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." I do believe the climate change science; it's just that the Earth's climate is very complex so who knows how it will turn out? It's already heating up faster than they expected.

Sounds like a grand opportunity to cut a Tarrif deal with redacted. I'm sure he'd be all over that.

Trump says US may hit Iran’s Kharg Island again ‘just for fun’ Umm... 'K. Cue the sinister laughter, I suppose. Mwahahahaha. 👹 This seems increasingly like a bully vs. bully war. Which one is the more evil, I wonder?

It's snowing here; there's about an inch accumulated thus far and it's still coming down. This is very late in the season for snow in this area. ❄️ Meanwhile, the weather folk are predicting a strong El Niño for 2026, which may mean a year or two of abnormally high temperatures. 🥵 The Return of a Super El Niño: How the Rapid Collapse of La Niña is Triggering a Massive Global Shift for 2026 Guess I should enjoy the cold while I can...