this overweeningly arrogant guy is unbelievable! He takes us for fools! A risible oily-tongued siren, spouting the very truth to mislead!

He wants China (and us) to think the Orange wrecking crew is haphazard, incompetent and driven by sheer emotion and hate. That there is no “continuity of government” or long-term thought process put into the eCONomic Samson attack underway. That it is totally determined by hedge fund degenerates who make it up on the fly.

IOW – “stay quiet, and take the pain. The fools shall soon reverse themselves” – and in the meantime, the Drang has advanced to greater catastrophes. Like that joke about having two bullets and having Ayn Rand, Stalin or Hitler in front of you, and using both bullets on Ayn Rand, I would say the same of this “professor.”

Another point the good professor omits: the Parasite is unconcerned for the former dying western Host. Orange was brought in as liquidator maximizing the final dividend.

The clues on what horrors await China (at unconcerned expense of common man in USA) can be seen in West Asia and Novorossiya.

Russia is embroiled in totalen krieg which keeps expanding and can be maintained on simmer for at least a decade, even when the larger war has been lost; Rules-based Terrorism, by air and sea shall seamlessly take over, international law and reputation be damned. The wholesale holocaust of ALL arabs is quite nicely advanced, paid for & whitewashed by satanic demented oil-rich arabs, international law and reputation be damned.

What comes to China will not only complete the demolition job on the old order, but will embroil China and Asian tigers in such Chaos that if not immediately halted will stillbirth the rising Asian Century.

As the ongoing bilateral Russian genocide was designed to largely remove Russia from global interventions for allies, and has largely worked, and the arab holocaust to smother mankind in despair, lack of hope and will to fight for true liberation, and is working to date; so the started assault of China will remove our global majority economic engine and usher in a universal backward and superstitious Dark Age to match the old cherished feudal one of the westerner Antagonists of All.

💠 @ejmalrai:
⭕️ Busy day for Iran: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei received a Saudi envoy who conveyed Riyadh’s desire to advance bilateral relations and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s rejection of any use of its territory for attacks against Iran. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin received a letter from Sayyed Khamenei outlining proposals for strategic cooperation and addressing nuclear-related concerns.
⭕️ Iran was reportedly preparing to target Israel’s nuclear facility at Dimona with hundreds of hypersonic missiles when President Donald Trump intervened, sending a diplomatically worded message to Tehran proposing a path toward negotiation.

💠 @Yemen | Bab-el-Mandeb:
⭕ The Trump administration proposed the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land in Gaza, actively traveling around the world—excluding its allied Western nations—to persuade other countries to accept the Palestinians they intend to displace while simultaneously preventing any Palestinian migrants from entering the U.S. This prohibition includes several countries whose citizens are barred from entering American territory.

Furthermore, America has not included European nations or any of its Western allies in its appeal to host those it seeks to relocate, despite the ongoing and horrific genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the Israeli state against the Palestinians in Gaza. This brutal campaign has been waged for over a year and a half, utilizing deadly American weaponry, resulting in nearly a quarter of a million Palestinians killed, injured, or missing.

The administration’s narrative, claiming that this displacement is voluntary, is deeply disingenuous. The scale and brutality of the actions taken against the Palestinian people cannot be ignored, and yet there is a lack of shame in their portrayal of this situation. The reality remains that this is not about voluntary migration, but rather a systematic attempt to erase a people from their homeland.
⭕ ✍ The crossings established by the expanding Israeli occupier in the Gaza Strip, such as the Nitsareem crossing and the Morag crossing, along with control over the Salah al-Din Corridor (Philadelphi Route), cut through the region from east to west and divide it into three isolated areas. This fragmentation severely disrupts familial ties and communication among the residents of Gaza, tightening the noose around them and making life unbearable in an attempt to force them to abandon their homeland and land.

After the Israeli occupation has destroyed approximately 80% of residential and civilian infrastructure, it imposes realities on the ground through brutal force to implement its plan of establishing tribal and familial local authorities under the supervision and guidance of the occupying forces. These areas, which are divided and isolated by the crossings or corridors, obliterate the geographic continuity of the Gaza Strip.

This strategy serves a dual purpose: on one hand, it aims at forced displacement, and on the other, it seeks to erase the Palestinian cause and the national rights of the Palestinian people, along with the establishment of their national state—a right enshrined by international legitimacy since 1947.
⭕ More than 68 U.S. airstrikes in northern, central, and western Yemen in the last 24 hours.
⭕ 🔴 Our hearts ache for the situation in Gaza, the crimes against it, and the suffering of its people, even as we stand with them, facing one of the world’s largest armies on their behalf and doing everything in our power to support them.

So, how do you feel, those of you who abandon her? Do you see what we see? Do you even have hearts at all?
#We_Will_Not_Abandon_Gaza
⭕🇾🇪The important thing is that we, as the Yemeni people, have not abandoned Gaza, nor have we stood by as spectators. Let them bombard us until they grow weary; the outcome of our struggle is victory.

By God, we would rather be killed for the sake of Allah a thousand times than endure the shame of abandoning the children and women of Gaza.

Blessed are those who share in Gaza’s sacrifices, struggle, glory, and rewards.

#We_Will_Not_Abandon_Gaza

💠 @BhadraPunchline:
⭕🔻 Dmitry Medvedev: Chancellor candidate Fritz Merz is haunted by the memory of his father, who served in Hitler’s Wehrmacht. Now Merz has suggested a strike on the Crimean Bridge. Think twice, Nazi!
🔻 DD Geopolitics: 🇩🇪 If you wondered why Medvedev called out Merz today… here is some context.

Friedrich Merz, soon to be Germany’s chancellor, is drenched in his family’s filthy Nazi stench.

His grandfather, Josef Paul Sauvigny, joined the Sturmabteilung—Hitler’s brutal “Brownshirt” thugs who beat Jews and crushed dissent—in 1933, became an NSDAP member, and as Brilon’s mayor, plastered streets with Hitler and Göring’s names.

Merz allegedly called this Nazi scum “admirable” in a 2004 speech during a local election campaign.

Later, in a statement to the Berliner Zeitung, Merz described his grandfather as an “impressive personality” and a “successful mayor.”
🔻 MKB: Aren’t they all the same from the master race with the filthy Nazi pedigree — Ursula von der Leyen, Annalena Baerbock, Friedrich Merz?
⭕ 1/2 Trump-Putin summit? Steve Witkoff reportedly discussed it with Putin at St. Petersburg April 11. Witkoff later told Fox News that he had a “compelling” 5-hour meeting, and Putin appeared open to lasting peace in Ukraine.  |TASS|
⭕ 2/2 Witkoff: “I think we might be on the verge of something very important for the world”; saw a deal “emerging”; “a possibility to reshape Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too.”
⭕ retweet:
🔻 Yawen Xu: 🇨🇳🇻🇳China and Vietnam sign $8.4 billion game-changing railway deal!

During President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Vietnam this week, China and Vietnam signed 45 cooperation agreements — with a major highlight being a $8.4 billion railway project connecting China’s Yunnan province and northern Vietnam.

This 391-kilmoeter railway will link the city of Lao Cai on the border with China to Hanoi and the key port city of Haiphong.

It’s worth noting that the railway will use standard-gauge tracks (1435mm), matching China’s high-speed rail system – a move that enables smoother cross-border freight and passenger services.

Construction is set to begin in late 2024 and be completed by 2030.

This is a major step forward for regional trade and China-Vietnam connectivity!  |media|

💠 @Sputnik Africa:
⭕ ❗️Trump says he expects a response from Russia regarding the ceasefire proposal in Ukraine by the end of this week
[That would make it about the April 20th birthday of Herr Merz’s idolized predecessor .. and it ain’t cause the Beautiful & Damned are nearly outta Time.. numerology and the Big Club!]

007 let us know how the Tariff-first act against the Celestial Empire shall end… “Let the Sky fall”

💠@Intel Slava Z:
⭕ 🇩🇪🇷🇺🇺🇦Rheinmetall CEO Papperger on sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine:

They won’t change anything in the war. Taurus is not a game changer. Besides, Ukraine already has cruise missiles with a similar range.

Classic artillery ammunition is a game changer. Only with it can Ukraine keep the Russians at bay.
[so when the new Reichsführer pulls the trigger, it will be for the same reason as Orange raising Chinese tariffs to 245%: a demonstration of visceral hatred and intent on the Last Drang against their perceived top enemy]
⭕ 🇷🇺🇺🇦The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian Armed Forces fighters have completely captured the settlement of Preobrazhenka (DPR).

💠@TASS – Agencia rusa de noticias:
⭕ 🇪🇸🇷🇺 The Spanish frigate Álvaro de Bazán monitored the passage of Russian military ships through the Mediterranean Sea, according to a statement from the Iberian country’s General Staff.

According to the military, the Spanish Navy ship was carrying out surveillance and tracking tasks for the Russian submarine Krasnodar in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Subsequently, the route of two other Russian vessels, the frigates Almirante Golovko and Almirante Grigorovich, was monitored, Madrid reported.

According to the report, Álvaro de Bazán is part of NATO’s permanent maritime grouping (SNMG-2), which provides a “permanent maritime presence” for the military bloc in the region.

💠@Fotros Resistance:
⭕ Saudi’s Defense Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, arrived in Tehran this morning.

This is the highest-level visit by a Saudi official to Iran since the resumption of diplomatic relations. Prince Khalid is scheduled to hold a series of important meetings with senior Iranian military and political officials.

Regional issues including Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq & Persian Gulf security/stability are on the table.
[this is son of the king, and brother of the heir presumptive]
⭕ Saudi’s Defense Minister was in fact invited by Iran’s Chief of Staff, Mohammad Bagheri, hence why he was welcomed by him personally.
⭕ As Iran’s FM visits Moscow to deliver Putin the letter by Ayatollah Khamenei, Qatar’s Emir is also in Russia.

He met with Putin moments ago at the Kremlin.
[a flurry of activity by the desperate desert bedouins. Too little too late. Their suzerain decided on the Murder-Suicide. What now?? Adios, modernity..]

💠@DDGeopolitics:
⭕ 🇺🇸 Explosion Destroys Part of Northrop Grumman Facility in Utah

An explosion occurred at a Northrop Grumman plant in the U.S. state of Utah, according to Newsweek. One of the facility’s buildings was destroyed. The cause of the explosion has not been disclosed.
⭕ 🇷🇺🇪🇪 Russia Warns of Response to Any Estonian Actions Against Its Ships in the Baltic

Russia will respond proportionally to any threats or risks posed by Estonia as a NATO member if it takes unlawful actions against Russian vessels in the Baltic Sea, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated.
[as Yemenis and Palestinians like to say, “he who has warned, is excused” from subsequent responsibility for retaliation..]
⭕ Negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine are advancing with considerable difficulty, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
[iow, Orange crew refuses to concede a lost war. Onwards holy warriors…]
⭕ Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman visited Tehran, the highest-ranking Saudi visit to Iran since 1997.

💠@Middle East Spectator:
⭕ Oman is refusing to allow U.S. Navy vessels and carrier strike groups to refuel and replenish stocks in Omani ports
[this is not mere defiance nor impudence of a usually compliant GCC stooge. It is now existential, as those floating coffins, and all who refit and replenish them, are BFTs under the persian gun-sights just across Hormuz. So we can take this as additional metric for the closeness of the Murder-Suicide]

💠@Sputnik Africa:
⭕ Vladimir Putin holds talks with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani |media|
[what a tie! Who does it remind you of? The trumpet of the Moshiach?? It is a Big Club…]

The Truth always outs… and one cannot fool any civilizational-state for long

Millei danced the one-two tango with the preceeding liberals to waste China’s time and soak their FDI and wealth. A serious time waster, like Europe for all the civilizational-states too. Time, energy, wealth, opportunities and other resources that coulda been spent on the sincere and global south were squandered on behalf of Empire in these two directions.

But I do not think any will waste any more resources in either direction. Irredeemable compradores that chained themselves to the Titanic shall be left to dance alone with their chosen master — as both head straight down to Davy Jones’s locker..

A nice recap of what happened to the Yemeni Jewish king who annihilated the Christian People of the Trench. How History rhymes! It was prophesied another Jewish tyrant would arise shortly before the Second Coming and similarly holocaust the oppressed.
PS – Axumites were themselves majority ancestrally Yemeni. It was like the Yanquis coming back to rule over Perfide, which i suppose was formalized by Eisenhower during Suez Crisis

💠 @Sputnik Africa:
⭕ US Reportedly Plans to Close Dozens of Diplomatic Missions Overseas, Including Six in Africa

🗣 “The Trump administration is considering plans to close 10 embassies and 17 consulates and reduce or consolidate the staff of several other foreign missions,” US media reported, citing an internal document from the US State Department.

The report noted that as a result of such changes, the US presence will be reduced “on nearly every continent”.

👉 In Africa, six US embassies are expected to be closed:

• South Africa,
• Eritrea,
• Gambia,
• Lesotho,
• DR Congo
• South Sudan

🗣 “The memo also suggests either significantly downsizing or eliminating the U.S. embassy presence in Mogadishu, Somalia,” the report said.

👉 Expected changes in other parts of the world:

• Two US embassies are expected to be affected – in Luxembourg and Malta
• Diplomatic missions in Grenada and the Maldives are expected to closed
• Five consulates in France, two in Germany and two more in Bosnia and Herzegovina could also be closed
• Several other diplomatic missions in Greece, Italy and Portugal could be shuttered.
• Consular support in countries with multiple consulates – such as Japan and Canada – may be consolidated in one location.

[Hallelujah!!]

💠 @Fotros Resistance:
⭕🚨 Al-Manar correspondent:
—
Within 24 hours, zionist violations amounted to nearly 10 attacks, distributed across the following towns:

• Aitaroun (drone strike)
• Tair Harfa (prefabricated house and center for the Islamic Message Scouts)
  Sheheen (prefabricated rooms)
• Wadi al-Hujayr (drone strike)
• Hanin (drone strike)
• Aita al-Shaab (sound bomb + maintenance work on the concrete wall)
• Wadi Madhlam (3 drone strikes)
• Meis al-Jabal (gunfire)

[Ceasefire violations inside Lebanon]
⭕️ 🇮🇷🇺🇸| Iran’s Deputy FM Gharibabadi:

Saturday’s Iran-US talks set in Rome, mediated by Oman. Location is not a primary issue. We’ve agreed to location changes multiple times already, showing this side issue isn’t the priority.

He means, Iran is serious about talks and is not looking for excuses to sabotage talks.
⭕️ 🇮🇷🇺🇸| Iran’s Deputy FM Gharibabadi:

One of the reasons why Iran does not accept direct negotiations is threats and sanctions. If they threaten, Iran also has its own tools.

If 2 parties have a deep disagreement, they should first examine whether it is possible to resolve the disagreement.

Threats and pressure are incompatible with negotiation.
⭕️ 🇮🇷🇺🇸| Iran’s Deputy FM Gharibabadi:

If the US enters the 2nd round like the first round in Muscat, it won’t take long to reach an agreement. However, It’s too early to judge right now.

Witkoff’s position in the US is higher than that of a minister.

Witkoff spoke with Putin himself for 5 hours.

💠 @Intel Slava Z:
⭕ 🪙❗️The exchange price of gold has exceeded $3,355 per troy ounce for the first time in history
⭕️ 🇺🇸🇸🇾❗️The United States has begun withdrawing its forces from a military base located near the largest gas field “Konico” [Syria] in the province of Deir ez-Zor, the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports, citing its own source in the US-allied Kurdish formation “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF).
⭕ 🇺🇸🇷🇺⚡️Trump extends ban on accepting Russian ships in US ports for a year
⭕ 🇷🇺🇺🇦The Russian Armed Forces have liberated Kalinovo in the DPR, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

💠@ejmalrai:
⭕ If US negotiators and officials continue to walk back previously stated positions on the Iran–US nuclear deal, the negotiations are unlikely to hold much longer. While next Saturday’s meeting carries political weight, it should not be mistaken for progress toward a resolution. The gap between the two sides remains wide. Beneath the diplomatic niceties and carefully worded statements, the substance of the deal still lacks clarity and cohesion.
⭕ retweet:
🔻 Roberta Sutton: “Not a collapse but an evolution” from US dominance to the multipolar world. Both RU & CN still ascending. Does anyone feel bound to follow the rules the Anglos make? Not powers but ways of wielding power: sharing/helping versus bossing/forcing. DC falls to corridors & BRICS pay |link|
[synopsis of his latest article]
⭕ Ashkenazi Jews, who make up a significant proportion of Israel’s Jewish population, come from Europe – mainly Central and Eastern Europe – and are not Semitic in origin.
Immigrants from the USA, Latin America and the former Soviet republics (including some who converted to Judaism or are descendants of converts) do not have Semitic ancestry.
⭕ It is not anti-Semitic to oppose the policies of the Israeli government or to criticise the political ideology of Zionism. What is anti-Semitic is the hatred of all Semites—regardless of religion—through physical attacks, verbal abuse, or the spread of dangerous stereotypes and conspiracy theories.
Ironically, in today’s context, no entity has been responsible for the death and displacement of more Semitic people—particularly Palestinians—than Israel. This reality is often ignored in Western narratives that equate Semitism exclusively with Jewish identity, while overlooking the Semitic heritage of Arab populations who bear the brunt of Israeli military actions.

💠@imetatronink:
⭕ What a time to be alive.
🔻 SIMPLICIUS Ѱ: |score card|
🔻 uptohere: We interrupt with a message from our sponsor
🔻 JT: What if someone were to perform an objective analysis and carefully weigh out the relative moral and ethical standing of Israel and their mortal enemies? Has it ever happened? Is such a thing even possible in this world? Seems a ledge too narrow for any to stand, much less walk
🔻 blindpig/1966: The death cult being zionism
⭕ 🎞️ 🧵 Favorite War Movies

The following are three of my all-time favorite war movies.

Memphis Belle (1990)
(Matthew Modine)

One of the most authentic WW2 movies ever. |THREAD|
🔻 John LeGalt: What, no Patton?
🔻 WS: My extremely unpopular opinion:

Patton (1970) the movie is mediocre.

And I think George S. Patton is a vastly overrated general who had the good fortune to always face inferior under-supplied forces while he enjoyed overwhelming numbers and almost limitless supplies.

If Patton, using the tactics for which he is revered, had taken on the 1942-44 Wehrmacht or the 1943-45 Red Army, his armies would have been ripped to shreds.
🔻 Timothy Leary’s Dead 🏴‍☠️🌱🐑🐕 🎣🎇👀🐈‍⬛⚠️🎲: Did you ever see this one: It’s my favorite |media|
🔻 WS: Yes, that is a great movie.
⭕ 🤔 The Great Deceiver

Soon AI entities will be trained to be subtly mendacious — to, with malice aforethought, purposefully persuade people to believe things which are not true.

“… and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.”
🔻 Joe: My only disagreement is that you should have back-dated your post. We’ve been living it for some time now.
🔻 I’m Douglass Truth Art: eventually face-to-face will be the only trusted communication – it might be a relative’s voice trying to convince you…
[excellent comment. It was prophesied the Moshiach would mimic the Messiah to bring the dead back to life, (really using demons and AI inhabiting meat suits using the copious data pre-harvested of the dead mark). Terrible days ahead]
🔻 oz4caster: The Deep State and their sponsors have already been teaching people to believe lies for many decades at least. AI just adds another tool for them.

⭕🔻 Russians With Attitude: The 27th is a bit of a special brigade, by the way. It’s the only Ukrainian military unit that is (officially) armed with HIMARS. So, at least formally, the Lord of all Ukrainian HIMARS was killed
🔻 Russians With Attitude: Also, Ukrainian military commanders don’t really like hanging out anywhere near the frontlines, so this guy was one of only like three Ukrainian brigade commanders that were killed in the last two years. Juicy target.
🔻 Armchair Warlord: Remember how the Russians destroyed the entire Ukrainian war effort in the Black Sea with one missile strike on an awards ceremony last year?

The Ukrainian Army’s NATO-trained and equipped missile forces seem to have obligingly stood in formation in Sumy for a repeat.
🔻 WS: Their chest weighed down heavy with medals, no doubt.

Vanity of vanities.
⭕ 🤦‍♂️ American exceptionalist delusions run amok.
links:
🔻 zerohedge: China Would Lose A ‘Trade War’ With The US… “Gradually, Then Suddenly” |link|
🔻 Dr. Anton: Crazy people everywhere |link|
🔻 Cato The Censor: “Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness” – enough said. #winning
🔻 Timbot2002: They should change thier name to Epoch Hedge
🔻 BenLayZenji: To paraphrase an old Dr. Seuss book I used to read to my kids, “Every day, from here to there, deranged lunatics are everywhere.”
🔻 readysetgo888@yahoo: It‘s becoming really exhausting and to be honest, kind of embarrassing
🔻 BuboAsper: Boeing vs China:
[links:
🔻 Angelo Giuliano 🇨🇭🇮🇹: “China typically buys 60–170 Boeing planes yearly, worth $4.2–$16.5 billion, plus parts and services, totaling $7–$10 billion annually (Reuters, 2025, April 15). With China halting all Boeing orders on April 15, 2025, due to U.S. tariffs, Boeing faces a yearly loss of $7–$10 billion. This trade dispute also saw Boeing’s stock drop 2.47%, while Airbus rose 4%.”]
🔻 Marta: Zerohedge? .da non credere🤣
⭕ Even if this were true (which it almost certainly is not), what does it matter, and what exactly does the US think it can do to alter this reality?
[links:
🔻 U.S. Asia Pacific Media Hub: .@statedeptspox: China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine. China provides nearly 80 percent of the dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war.”]
[hey! State is not aligned with the War Dep. It should be “Indo-Pacific” not “Asia Pacific”]
🔻 Em Grove: 80% is likely exaggerated but I suspect it’s true China is selling a lot of important goods to Rus. They’re also buying a lot of resources from Rus.

What the US, & Europe, can do about it is not much. We’ve already seen the global south buy from Rus despite west saber rattling
🔻 Gary L: Stoking the hate flames for China is essential for future action against it, whatever it may be.
🔻 Happy Corgi Pants: They know they can’t do anything about it.

They are using it as propaganda to groom us against their enemy.
🔻 WorldlyChristian: And the US provides >90% of the MILITARY equipment to Ukraine…
🔻 Halide Edip: just ginning up support for our war on China
⭕🔻 SIMPLICIUS Ѱ:
⚡️🇺🇦Big surprise:

Ukraine has shifted its rhetoric after the downing of an F-16.

Now, officials there claim that American aircraft fundamentally cannot compete on equal terms with modern Russian fighters. |link|
🔻 WS: It was one of the easiest predictions to make from the first moment it was suggested F-16s should be sent to Ukraine.

📜 Flying Coffins
🔻 Gil⚡Gamesh: Flying coffins good only to bombard weddings in countries without any air defense. Perfect for the kind of ‘war’ that USA usually does, ie. beating dead horses and call it a win.
⭕🔻 ayden:
Russian sources are reporting that an FPV strike that occurred in the Chasiv Yar direction utilized the new “Ovod” drone which is controlled by the “Orbita” system.

This means that a team on the ground in Ukraine put the drone out and a drone pilot in Moscow completed the strike. In the future this innovation could lessen the risk to drone teams as they would not need to be positioned within 20km of the front.
🔻 m x: So, they can do what US is already doing eg Predators are flying over Iraq while pilots are in Tucson.
🔻 WS: reposts his older: “🔥 Yemen MQ-9 Score Update — XIX

Meanwhile, the Yemeni, using domestically produced missiles, have shot down yet another MQ-9, bringing the total to NINETEEN over the past year+.

The US MQ-9 Reaper is obsolete on 21st century battlefields.”
⭕ 🤦‍♂️ Given that CSG-1 (USS Carl Vinson) is in the Gulf of Oman (over 2000 km distant from Yemeni targets), this is almost certainly disinformation being disseminated by CENTCOM.
[links:
🔻 U.S. Central Command: 24/7 strikes from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) across multiple Iran-backed Houthi locations…
#HouthisAreTerrorists”]
[note the strident hashtag at the end… like posting dates on the podium at Odessa.. yeah. Some do need to comfort themselves, like a neonate longing to return to the warm, watery, dark embrace of the womb… the world’s a bright, noisy, and unpredictable place without cushioning indeed]
🔻 SenshelMenshel Coastguard🔻: Do you have any trusted OSINT twitter accounts?
🔻 WS: It is necessary to approach ALL of them with a critical eye. Even those who “get it right” most of the time will nevertheless sometimes misinterpret and/or misrepresent their “open-source intelligence”.

One needs to look for corroborating or disproving secondary indicators.
⭕🤔 I cannot conceive of a credible mission for this single-missile TEL. In what potential future battle scenario would this be deployed? |link|
[to launch Scotty bodily at the Aye-Raanians??]
🔻 Ricky Worthey ✝️: Breaking up a domestic prostest
🔻 Rune: It goes along with the 2017 CPG. USMC expects such high attrition in war with China, that they decided to focus on masses of small expendable systems they can scatter everywhere. They probably don’t expect most to survive after the first launch.
🔻 The Skeptic🤔🤔: Land mount mk 41 launcher is a pretty interesting idea. Distributed launchers aren’t a terrible idea in the days of drones.
🔻 Tod🏁🚩🏴🏳️: In the future battle scenario when the US can’t afford 2, or more, missiles! 😄
🔻 IonCannon47801: I think that it would be very useful in the way the west would fight, i.e giving these to a country like say, Phillipines, and having them launch cruise missiles whilst hiding deep within cities amongst civilians (like how Ukr/US/UK has adapted to Rus long range fire).
[disturbing days, when such scenarios can’t be dismissed..]
⭕🔻 DD Geopolitics: 🇷🇺 Moscow is not joking: the Russian army has acquired Starlink “killers.”

Moscow is developing various methods of deterring and suppressing Starlink , TNI writes. Thus, the Kalinka and Tobol electronic warfare systems are designed specifically to disrupt satellite communications and navigation. The Pentagon and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are sounding the alarm: for them, this is a real threat.

The authors were seriously alarmed and admitted that Russia is a space superpower. The presence of systems effective against Starlink means that Russia has already surpassed the US in these technologies. Moreover, Moscow has clearly made it clear that it considers the conflict in Ukraine decisive for its own future, and therefore will continue to improve its means of struggle.
🔻 WS: I don’t know much about this, but there have been rumors for well over a year that the Russians had been able to block Starlink on at least a local level. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if they have expanded that capability.
⭕🔻 Congressman Pat Harrigan: “China could sink the entire U.S. carrier fleet in 20 minutes.”

That’s not a headline from the future, it’s a real-time warning from our own @SecDef.

While Washington stalled, Beijing armed itself with hypersonic missiles built to cripple our military before we can even respond. Systems like the DF-17 and DF-27 weren’t developed for deterrence, they were built to strike first and win fast.

America can’t afford more complacency. We need to outpace, outbuild, and outfight the Chinese military. They’re not preparing for peace, and neither should we.
🔻 WS: He’s said this dating back before he was made SecDef.
[Young Temple Mount Hegseth keeps reminding me of a young Rummy… And former CIA Burns said whilst Ambassador to Russia that bringing in 404 into the western orbit was a Russian red line, over which blood would flow.. then promptly changed tune when in nominal power. Funny how that works]
⭕ 📜 An Epoch of Great Changes Is Upon Us

(Originally published January 19, 2024)
🔻 Francesco Sylos Labini: I think so as well
🔻 WS: To me, it is now undeniable that NATO and the EU are disintegrating before our eyes.
⭕ ⚓️ The USS Truxton (DDG-103) has transited the Suez Canal and joined up with CSG-8 (USS Trembling Puppy) in the northern Red Sea.

I hope CSG-8 does not now attempt to run the gauntlet of the Bab-el-Mandeb in order to join CSG-1 (USS Carl Vinson) in the Gulf of Oman.
📜 “Wall of Steel”
🔻 Johanna deMartin: The only reason I believe you mean that is because running the gauntlet would needlessly risk a lot of lives, but otherwise..

Who knows, maybe the PLAN out of Djibouti could mount a rescue operation in case of the gauntlet ending in fire.
⭕ ⚓️🤔 Sailor Starlink OPSEC

Given that the US Navy is engaged in active combat in the region, I find it somewhat concerning that sailors on US warships are being permitted to use Starlink. It strikes me as a complacent lapse in OPSEC (Operations Security).
🔻 C1: I could see it being OK if it was just receiving, but since Starlink has uplink …
🔻 WS: Crew members are communicating with their families.

Maybe they’re using an AI censor for all communications … but I doubt it.
🔻 Joe A.: They need their porn.
🔻 Vrai Nom: I hope for the Navy’s sake that the Chinese or Russians do not manage to break into the Starlink servers…
🔻 The Poets Of Zwan ⭕️🪶🏴‍☠️: It’s simply just the new reality of modern military. Morale would be on empty if you don’t give these kids, who plopped out of their mommas with a device in their hands, access to the internet.
⭕ Russia is also now producing in quantity the jet-engine variants based on the Shahed-238. |link|
⭕🔻 — GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 –: The special services of Russia and Belarus are ready to act preemptively in the face of NATO activity and increasing escalation from Europe around Ukraine, said Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

We see an increase in military activity by NATO countries near our borders, we feel and see that European countries, especially France, Great Britain and Germany, are increasing the level of escalation around the Ukrainian conflict, so we need to act preemptively. We are ready for this.
🔻 Pandem(on)ical Order of Good Cheer: Wait’ll he hears about Estonian seizing Russia-bound ships in the Baltic…
🔻 WS: I suspect the Europeans are engaging in a delusionary calculation that they can “stretch” Russia to the breaking point with these mad maneuvers.

They also have probably convinced themselves the US will feel compelled to “help out” if the Russians give Europe a bloody nose.
🔻 Pandem(on)ical Order of Good Cheer: I think the second of these is the more salient one. And if the US doesn’t come through–for the Balts, this may be their last best chance at the white whale before NATO is too weak to offer any resistance at all.
🔻 William C: I have little doubt that elements in the US estab & media are quietly collaborating with EU actors to precipitate events that would compel the Trump Admin to enter the conflict. Might take a 9/11 grade event. Trust MI5 to conjure up something.
[and so? How would they materially stop or reverse Defeat to Russkie? Another unicorn, like activating “Article V”]
🔻 Rune: It’s not just their calculation, it’s RAND’s (Extending Russia) and Brzezinski’s (The Grand Chessboard), +they know US isn’t giving more help, because they were ordered to fight Russia while US focuses on China, by Hegseth in Feb. They don’t mind losing Euro playing pieces.
🔻 whitemonkey1: these are the same europeans that think sanctions will destroy RUSSIA

these are the same europeans that boasted their modern weapons will defeat russia in SMO

is there anything realistic coming from them ?
⭕ 🤦‍♂️ This is such ridiculous silly talk.

“What are you going to do, bleed on me?”

(Great photo below, btw. 🤣)
[links:
🔻 Zlatti71: 🇳🇱 Netherlands preparing for war, presumably with Russia — Le Monde.

76,000 Dutch military personnel — both active and civilian — have been ordered to prepare for military operations “as quickly as possible.”

The letter was signed by the highest-ranking officer of the Dutch army, combat commander Onno Eichelsheim. The general believes that the Netherlands may be forced to mobilize “faster than expected.”
– FRWL”]
🔻 Tziganesco ☢️🔳⛏️: Those are Luxembourgish, the blue of their flag is lighter
🔻 Zlatti71: Sorry for the wrong picture showing soldiers from Luxembourg. 🤦🏻‍♂️
🔻 JimDeSoutzi: They will deploy 3 battalions of figure skaters at the front line.
🔻 Seth Overdijk: I am from the Netherlands. Russia doesn’t have to worry about our military, they are a bunch of losers.
⭕🔻 Armchair Warlord: The Russians can be expected to launch a large offensive in Ukraine at some point between next week and the end of June, but probably after the May 9th Victory Day commemoration.

Essentially all conditions are set and they’ve been shaping the battlefield for years by now.⬇️

Let’s review:

Troops: Russia now deploys a well-trained, battle-hardened army with about a million men either already at the front or in strategic reserve in some capacity. Ukraine probably has about half that in the field, generally of far lower quality. There’s a reason the Russians are winning close combat engagements at a 20:1 ratio.

War Materiel: The Russian army mentioned above is fully equipped and has the backend production and repair capability to make up losses. The Ukrainian one is not by any measure, nor does NATO have any remaining capacity to pull another April 2022 and hand over a new one to replace losses without disbanding the Bundeswehr Heer or something… although now that I’ve said it out loud that’s far from outside the realm of possibility if the AFU starts to collapse.

Tech: Russian forces now not only deploy more and better tactical drones than the Ukrainians, they have developed and deployed at mass scale the necessary countermeasures (new tactics, armor designs, electronic warfare systems and hard-kill interceptors) to restore mobility following this latest revolution in battlefield lethality.

Logistics: The Russians have radically improved rail and road infrastructure throughout the Donbass (and particularly in Zaporozhie, this will come up later) at this point, and will be able to immediately push logistics where it is needed at the front. They have also developed a sufficiently large and precise cruise drone force so as to be able to shut down the Ukrainian rail network running to the front without much trouble and take the Dniper Bridges out of commission.

Front-Line Position: Russian forces have driven the AFU out of their long-term fortifications across several broad sectors and established four “bridgeheads” into the Ukrainian hinterland, one of which is a literal bridgehead: north of Kupyansk, south of Pokrovsk, the Velika Novoselka sector, and southwest of Orekhovo. And this is just in the Donbass, they’re also developing a position in Sumy atop the ruins of last year’s Ukrainian Kursk Offensive.

Politics: Negotiations have now been tried and have manifestly failed, with the Ukrainians ostentatiously spitting on even the most basic confidence-building measures such as the “electrical ceasefire” (which will expire in a few days). By all accounts, Russian delegates have moved on to demanding a wide-ranging, permanent postwar settlement from their American interlocutors, one in which Ukraine and Ukrainian interests does not seem to figure at all. The Russians aren’t stupid or naive in thinking the US can actually deliver any of this – they’re laying out the terms under which they want to conduct business with NATO following the conquest or unconditional surrender of Ukraine.

Pictured: A scheme of operations based on the Russians continuing to develop their shaping operations from the last year, with a main effort in Zaporozhie oriented on Dnipropetrovsk and a supporting effort in Kharkov oriented on Izyum and Balakleya. Not pictured would be a second supporting effort in Sumy. Rather interestingly, this supporting effort in Izyum would naturally develop into a reconquest of the Liman area. Of course if the AFU collapses and routs we’d be talking about Kharkov and Brovary a couple weeks after, but this represents a reasonable campaign plan for the next few months that will politically and militarily put the screws to Ukraine and potentially spark a revolution and/or capitulation. A sort of Meuse-Argonne on the Dniper, if you will.

In any event, I suspect there’s a clock in the Russian Ministry of Defense counting down to H-Hour right now. We shall have to see how things pan out.
🔻 WS: Not to worry, the Dutch will come to the rescue.
⭕ retweet:
🔻 unusual_whales: BREAKING: Donald Trump right now: We may want countries to choose between us or China
🔻 Midwest Antiquarian: Good thing we’re currently on really great terms with all of our ally’s
🔻 Emily: It’s a good thing Trump spent the last 3 months strengthening our international relationships by showing the world we’re a rock solid partner that would never betray our allies
🔻 Luke Gromen: China buys 434m smartphones and 26 million new cars a year; the U.S. 144m smartphones and 16m cars (the same # of new cars the US bought 25 yrs ago, BTW.)

There are multiple different ways this may not go the way Trump thinks it will:
[posts leading image]
🔻 Michael McNair: The important statistic isn’t their respective domestic demand figures, but domestic demand relative to domestic production – net demand is what is important to trading partners
🔻 Luke Gromen: Good point…challenge is how do we calculate that when parts are cross-contaminated in both directions?

IKD, but what I can say w/certainty is that given that cross-contamination, global supply chains will collapse (followed by the global economy) if this continues too long

⭕ retweet:
🔻 Arnaud Bertrand: links leading image and:
🔻 Bloomberg: President Donald Trump called on China to reach out to him in order to kick off negotiations aimed at resolving the escalating trade fight between the world’s two largest economies. |link|
🔻 Arnaud Bertrand: The rest of the quote is that if you seem desperate to make a deal, “that makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead.”

Rumor has it that Trump not only didn’t write the book but didn’t even read it. Maybe he should…
⭕ retweet:
🔻 Zlatti71: For three years, I’ve been reporting on a war – a needless war that has ended, destroyed, and forever changed the lives of innocent people. A conflict unleashed at a time when tensions had been building – much like the lead-up to the First World War.

All of our lives have been thrown off course by it – and they continue to be. We watch the shadows on the wall, trying to interpret what the invisible powers – the ones who truly hold influence – are planning for our world. Hoping to recognize a pattern that might point us toward a path.

Some begin to form their own views, to question what seems obvious. Others, meanwhile, graze peacefully in the meadow, enjoying the moment – until the next shearing comes.

My goal remains to reflect the many facets of this unfolding reality as truthfully as possible – in the hope of discerning a pattern that helps me understand it all. I want to share it, have it questioned – and continue searching for what we call reason.

Thanks for being around here with me.

💠@DDGeopolitics:
⭕ Conchita Vance-Wurst |media|

💠@Middle East Spectator:
⭕ 🇺🇸/🇨🇳 NEW: Chinese social media users are incredibly amused, after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was seen wearing a Chinese-made dress from ‘Taobao’, the Chinese equivalent of Amazon, while talking about imposing tariffs on China and bringing manufacturing ‘back to America’
⭕ — 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei:

‘The Iran-US talks are being conducted in a good and professional way, and our red lines are clear. We will not have a repeat of the JCPOA.

I urge the officials to stay on this path, and the talks can either become fruitful or not. But don’t tie the country’s affairs to these negotiations; have faith in our nation’s capabilities, don’t put all your eggs in one basket – pursue other affairs alongside this.

If the negotiations work, they work, and if they do not, then they don’t. In the meantime, we should continue our national progress and not be blindsighted by these talks.’
⭕ — 🇺🇸/🇮🇷/🇷🇺 NEW: Iran has rejected a U.S. proposal to relocate its uranium stocks to Russia, stating that Iran must retain full control and sovereignity over its nuclear program
[Good to see the NYETS accruing. These “negotiations” merely fight to while away the time]
⭕ The President of the Maldives has ratified legislation banning Israelis from entering the country, effective immediately.

💠@imetatronink:
⭕ cont. thread:
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: Two Carriers Now Bombard Houthi Forces “Around the Clock”
🔻 WS: There is no evidence (nor CENTCOM statements) that CSG-1 (USS Vinson) has launched ANY strikes against Yemen at this point. You are disseminating misinformation, Sal.
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: CENTCOM reports Vinson working alongside Truman and released photos of their planes being launched with ordnance. |media|
[oop! Did our Sal the Sailorman just burn the OSINT crew?]
🔻 WS: You misread / misinterpreted Chowdah’s somewhat deceptive PR release, Sal. He did NOT say they were working together. The launch videos were separately filmed and displayed side by side. You should be more discerning. USS Vinson has not launched strikes against Yemen.
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: You should take up your complaints with CENTCOM, who said the carriers are working side by side, and @Mar_Ex whose article I reposted.

The Vinson was sent into the region to support Truman in the operation against Yemen. |media|
[that retreat is too fast Sal! And that “false authority” fallacy.. we know CENTCOM is as truthful as its zionazi brother]
🔻 WS: I read all their releases.

CSG-8 (USS Trembling Puppy) is cowering in the far northern reaches of the Red Sea. CSG-1 (USS Carl Vinson) is in the northern Arabian Sea. 2500 km apart. There have been no reports or claims that CVN-70 has launched any combat sorties against Yemen.
[he posts the leading map. This was from 2-3 days ago and is now dated. The second floating carrier tomb subsequently moved much closer to Yemen]
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: Truman does not appear to be afraid of the #Houthis based on the number of leaders they have eliminated and the sorties flown against them.
[Oh Sal! Did you swallow that sinker too?]
🔻 WS: Other than an entire apartment building the US destroyed in order to kill one particular man who was allegedly involved in the Yemeni missile program, there is ZERO credible evidence that a “number of leaders” have been killed. You are simply echoing unfounded CENTCOM propaganda.
🔻 WS: As for CSG-8 and the USS Trembling Puppy, they have deliberately remained 1200+ kms away in the northern reaches of the Red Sea — well beyond the effective range of the limited Yemeni missile arsenal.

And I predict the Trembling Puppy will not dare venture into the southern Red Sea, let alone attempt to transit the Bab-el-Mandeb — because they know very well that doing so would expose them to very credible risk of being struck by Yemeni missiles.

CSG-8 is effectively “bottled up” in the northern Red Sea, and is therefore useless in the event of war breaking out with Iran. This is why CSG-1 was dispatched to CENTCOM, so that at least one strike group could credibly threaten Iranian targets.

That said, I also predict the Vinson will remain in the Arabian Sea well outside Yemeni and Iranian missile range, just as CSG-9 (USS Teddy Bear) and CSG-3 (USS Fraidy Abe) were careful to “stand afar off” when they conducted their token deployments to the region last summer.
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: Much like you echo unfounded reports about hitting US ships and forcing them to retreat.
[Professor Sal is cracking]
🔻 WS: I have never ONCE suggested that a US ship has been struck by a Yemeni missile. You have obviously mistaken me with someone else.
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: You posted yesterday about Houthi attacks on US ships.
links Will’s Apr 12: “Bold talk.

Meanwhile the USS Trembling Puppy and its quivering entourage remain bottled up in the northern Red Sea, fending off daily salvos of ad hoc missiles built by Yemeni hands deep within desert mountains.”
🔻 WS: I have never once argued that a US ship has been struck by Yemeni missiles. Never.

That said, they have come close several times, which is precisely why US ships have remained well out of range since both the Trembling Puppy and the Fraidy Abe had “close calls” last summer.
🔻 WS: I am also mystified and disappointed that you would misrepresent what I have written on this topic. I have been consistent and precise in all I have ever posted.

At any rate, no one is denying that there have been MANY close calls over the course of the past 18 months.
[Sal left the Chat…]
🔻 WS: CSG-1 didn’t roll into CENTCOM to play whack-a-mole in Yemen. It’s there to menace Iran.

As for CSG-8, they don’t even dare venture south of Jeddah, let alone try to run the gauntlet of the Bab-el-Mandeb.

Those two carriers are NOT working “side by side”.
🔻 WS: The real question is WHY CENTCOM is playing word games with the public regarding the activities of these two CSGs. Given how easy it is these days to identify the general location of a CSG, it makes no sense to me why they are dispensing this thinly veiled misinformation.
🔻 Sal Mercogliano: Actually, many are denying what the Houhtis allege when it comes to attacks.

They have repeatedly attacked ships not connected to Israel.

They have killed mariners not connected to the conflict in Gaza.

They have alleged they have damaged warships when there is ZERO evidence.
[“After these messages… we’ll be riiiight back!” Sal got uploaded the stale talking points. They’re outta ideas.. and commits another logical fallacy in the process, promptly rapped on the knuckles]
🔻 WS: Non sequitur.

This is only relevant military / geostrategic consideration:

Ansarullah has effected a selective blockade of the Red Sea, and remains the gatekeeper of the Bab-el-Mandeb, while simultaneously attriting mountains of American precision-guided munitions.
🔻 Royrogers55: The only effective strategy here is one of two options. First, stop supporting IDF’s genocide in Gaza and force the Israelis to restore Palestinian control of the Gaza Strip. The second option would be to attack Yemen’s water supply. Collateral damage would be significant.
🔻 WS: What makes you think inflicting massive damage and hardship on the populace of Yemen would break the shipping blockade and open the Bab-el-Mandeb?
[it wouldn’t. They’ve promised not to flinch even from nuclear terrorism, and chanted in millions “we don’t care – make it a world war”. There is a reason Yemen is prophesied as one of the Ten Major Signs of the End Times – as they were also told to have the most powerful civilization in human history – abominable giants that taught wickedness to Babylon, before being buried under a sea of sand that today forms 1/4 of the Arabian peninsula. It looks like they’re atoning in a major way for the earlier waywardness, and helping bury what remains of the Last Babylonian iteration]
🔻 Royrogers55: They are a hard people, and I don’t know that it would work, but if you were committed to using force, that’s how it would have to happen. Now to whatever degree it would be successful is another story. Interdiction and direct action, however, are not viable options.
🔻 WS: So here is the reasoning you suggest:

“We have no military means at our disposal to break this blockade, and so we will simply attempt to annihilate the populace of Yemen in the uncertain hope that will solve the problem.”

In other words: Genocide is the answer.
🔻 Royrogers55: No, I suggest restoring Palestinian control of Palestine. The bombing campaign is ineffective and strategically stupid. Yemen, however, is particularly sensitive in the area of water supply, and has been for over 50 years. In the context of strategic options, I am merely pointing out that if one were militarily committed to forcing their hand, that would be the way. I do not condone it for many reasons, not the least of which is the collateral damage on civilians–which is why I am completely against the US’ support of the IDF, and the IDF’s incursion into sovereign Palestinian land.
🔻 WS: I understood that. I was speaking rhetorically, not of you personally. Sorry that wasn’t clear.
[but Roy is onto the nazi gestalt. And what they’ve already started – the same collective punishment as seen throughout Greater Syria]
🔻 Bananas: Ain’t that what the US does best?
🔻 HilltopFool: So 2 Genocides are a better result than simply allowing food and water back into Gaza.
⭕🔥 Yemen MQ-9 Score Update — XIX

Meanwhile, the Yemeni, using domestically produced missiles, have shot down yet another MQ-9, bringing the total to NINETEEN over the past year+.

The US MQ-9 Reaper is obsolete on 21st century battlefields.
📜 Scorch Marks in the Sand
🔻 Peace & Prosperity: Will Yemen exhaust the US military before they try to attack Iran? 😅
🔻 WS: Notwithstanding they have yet to achieve a successful strike against a warship, the Yemeni have nonetheless inflicted 18 straight months of strategic defeat against the US Navy.

They have now humiliated four successive carrier strike groups.

#TheBigAttrition continues unabated.
#NoEasyWarsLeftToFight
🔻 Framed Mollusk: Humiliation sure, but a defeat? I don’t see how.
🔻 WS: There is a profound difference between tactical defeat and strategic defeat.

Iraq and Afghanistan are two cases in point: both were decisive strategic defeats.

The US Navy is now 18 months into a decisive strategic defeat in the Battle of the Red Sea.
🔻 MrMojoRising: Gone the same way as the Bayraktar TB2 – basically useless against any adversary who has any kind of AD…
🔻 Boris Badenov: It’s an effective counter-insurgency weapon against an opponent with 0 air defenses, but against an opponent with even rudimentary AA capability it’s a sitting duck
🔻 SenshelMenshel Coastguard: I wonder if the reason we’re seemingly seeing an increased rate of reaper-downing is because Ansarallah is getting better at targeting them, or because there are simply so many more being sent over Yemen?
(I’m sure it’s both but I wonder what the primary reason is)
🔻 Chris 💜: Are we sure they’re domestically produced missiles? Russia did threaten to supply US enemies during Biden admin because of missile strikes in Russia.
🔻 WS: There is no indication whatsoever that ANY Russian weaponry has been delivered to Yemen.
[for that we may give Thanks. Most of us woulda been already Raptured if Russkie had lost the plot and forked them over to the aching mountain warriors]
⭕🔻 DD Geopolitics: 🇨🇳 Same conductor, same country, 26 years later.
🔻 WS: 🔸 In my view, one of the most ridiculous “China Is Evil” arguments is that “China steals American creativity”.

America does not have a monopoly on creativity, invention, and innovation.

And all products of human creativity spread rapidly and inexorably across the planet.
🔻 TexasPuma: I’d assume that they go 110% on stealing IP, developing engineers, so that they have the best stuff… I’ve always been told they steal stuff, don’t they?
🔻 WS: I’m sure the Chinese “steal” anything they can in terms of technological innovations, though they’re not as adept as were the Americans in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Chinese have distinguished themselves when it comes to innovating on top of the inventions of others.
🔻 TexasPuma: Yeah, the older I get the more I realize there are a lot of narratives that are ingrained in us.
🔻 Caldwell49: What high speed rail does the US have to steal?!?!
🔻 WS: 👏 Congratulations. You are the first person to understand my point, and why I said what I said in a repost of that particular image.
🔻 JethroBoateng: Actually, they stole the technology by reversing Japanese bullet trains given to them by the Japanese government
[LOL. was waiting for this spin. Not quite. Larry Romanoff demonstrated this was not the case. They surpassed the tech of Japanese and Frenchie and the Spaniards and others…]
🔻 hem day: The very idea of owning creativity stems from a flawed system: laws born in the age of printing presses, pushed by publishers to guard their investments, not to protect creators. Those rules assume ideas can be property, like a chair or a plot of land, yet they cannot. Share an idea, and you lose nothing. It is not diminished, only multiplied. Contemporary technology now exposes this flaw more than ever. Copying texts and designs takes seconds, costing nearly nothing, making control over ideas a losing battle.
🔻 Suicidal ZZZapling ♋️: There’s a saying where I come from:

“Nothing is created; everything is copied.”
[or alternatively, “we all stand on shoulders of giants” – and this is a pun, given the size of our ancestors. And “nothing new under the sun” or “new bottle, same wine..”]
🔻 Chris: The US appears to be in cope and denial mode.

China has spent a lot of time and energy investing in itself. It hasn’t been perfect, but overall the growth has been very positive, with major increases in living standards.

By contrast the US waged losing wars and declined.
[you are what you eat, or your daily thoughts.. And if you’re preoccupied with killin’….]
⭕🔻 Ian Ellis: I count at least 439 U.S. strikes against the Houthi since 15 March 2025 based on data from @TheStudyofWar
🔻 WS: 🤦‍♂️ Ignoring for the moment the embarrassment you should feel in citing the monumentally clownish “Institute for the Study of War”, this is the only relevant military / geostrategic consideration:

Ansarullah has effected a selective blockade of the Red Sea, and remains the gatekeeper of the Bab-el-Mandeb, while simultaneously attriting mountains of American precision-guided munitions.

The Battle of the Red Sea has become quite arguably the single most decisive strategic defeat the US Navy has ever suffered.
🔻 Lee Slusher: The claim of restoring “freedom of navigation,” and of doing so largely on behalf of European shipping, is much funnier in light of the fact that a French CSG just transited the Suez from the Indian Ocean. |media|
[and several weeks ago, the same French CSG went the opposite way through the Bab on the way to strut in the China Seas.. what a clown show]
🔻 WS: The fact that Ansarullah is imposing a “selective blockade” is one of the most impressive aspects of the Battle of the Red Sea.

They are the gatekeepers. They decide who shall pass and who shall not.
[what did Frenchie have to pay to transit?? I bet Charon takes a lesser toll than Yemenis]
🔻 cognitivedissonanceeverywhere: That’s why the US is so upset. There is a narrative that this is hurting Europe, but it’s actually hurting Israel quite a bit an the reality is nothing sails through the Red Sea without the say-so of the Yemenis. They haven’t needed to sink anything, just get ships to withdraw.
🔻 CS: The fact that the US Navy could not break the Houthis blockade of the Red Sea even after supposed 439 strikes, should make Trump more likely to strike a deal with Iran, rather than going kinetic, their tone has already softened from complete denuclearization to JCPOA terms
⭕🔻 Mario Nawfal: 🚨🇺🇸NGOS RAN A PARALLEL GOVERNMENT UNDER BIDEN—AND NO ONE VOTED FOR IT

What started as humanitarian aid turned into an unaccountable empire. NGOs had the funding, the infrastructure, and the cover of virtue—but no voters, no oversight, and no checks.

Under Biden, they didn’t just assist the government—they became it. From day one, they executed policies outside the chain of command: mass immigration, ideological programming, and public manipulation—without ever facing the public.

This wasn’t a glitch. It was the plan.

While officials dodged blame, NGOs operated in the shadows—a bloodless coup hiding in plain sight.

Source: @DataRepublican
🔻 Bill Bottrell: Yes, but let’s not pretend this was only “under Biden”
The shadow system that vast and powerful took decades to grow.
🔻 WS: Yes. It has spanned our lifetimes, Bill.
⭕🔻 Glenn Diesen:
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatens deep strikes into Iran if negotiations fail.
– Threatening the use of force is illegal under international law, but near obligatory under the “rules-based international order” |media|
🔻 WS: Bold talk.

Meanwhile the USS Trembling Puppy and its quivering entourage remain bottled up in the northern Red Sea, fending off daily salvos of ad hoc missiles built by Yemeni hands deep within desert mountains.

And Hegseth thinks Iran is an easy mark? These people are nuts.
🔻 Sahib3030🌍🌎🌏: I wonder if Hegseth understands how “Deep” is required for Deep strikes inside Iran.
It is as if the Pentagon is thinking there is zero AD over Iran !!
🔻 WS: Important Iran Maps |media|
🔻 Ikkyu Sojun: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s threat of “deep strikes into Iran” if talks fail reeks of delusional bravado.

Iran’s no easy target—decades of fortifying defenses, advanced missiles, and layered air systems make it a tough nut to crack.

Strikes would face fierce resistance, with retaliation likely hitting U.S. bases hard.

Recent struggles in Yemen, dwindling missile stocks and naval constraints, hint at overreach, yet Hegseth acts like victory’s assured.

Threatening force flouts international law (UN Charter, Article 2(4)), despite being a “rules-based order” reflex.

It’s reckless talk, blind to Iran’s resilience, risking escalation over success.
🔻 Kristian Thyregod: Frat boys rarely think that far ahead.

Mr. Hegseth is no exception, but then again, paraphrasing Upton Sinclair:

“It’s difficult for a man to understand something, when the support from his puppet master depends on him not understanding it.”
🔻 EvaG: USS Truman apparently now docked for repairs. Yemen claimed it’s because of their missiles strikes ?

⭕‼️ Trump’s Revisionist History

Trump is trying to wash his hands of culpability for the Ukraine War. This is what you call “Revisionist History”.
📜 Some Sins Will Not Wash Away
🔻 IQWACP: He should have done this day one, but then he owned it.
Now he is stuck with the hot potato.

Art of the deal indeed.
⭕ ▪️ Trump Owns the Ukraine War
reposts his older:
“‼️ Trump Owns the Ukraine War

By claiming to be the first POTUS to send serious US weaponry to Ukraine, and boasting that “lots” of Russian tanks were thereby destroyed, and then saying arms shipments will continue until Putin “makes a deal”, Trump has now assumed ownership of the Ukraine War.”
🔻 NotABot: The only thing he does not own is himself.
🔻 Truth-B-Told: And Gaza – he’s proven to be nothing other than another stooge of the crumbling empire.
⭕ 🤔 So the Germans want to clean up rubble and ashes in Berlin again?

Oh … and exactly how are these Taurus missiles going to be launched? As I recall, neither Soviet-era aircraft nor F-16s can carry and launch the Taurus.
🔻 SIMPLICIUS Ѱ: |fine print|
🔻 Sheldon Stack 💹🧲: “Willing” makes for good headlines, without necessarily “doing.”
🔻 Sophia_Atossa 🇩🇪🕊🇷🇺: Definitely.

And the attrition of the Federal Armed Forces matériel continues unabated. Ukraine demands all 150 including the platforms to deliver them.

Sometimes peace is the result of not having anything left to fight with. It seems that Germany is heading this way.
⭕🔻 zerohedge: Tariff Shock Delayed For Dollar Tree & Home Depot By Several Months
🔻 WS: Pretty soon there will be more exceptions than tariffs.