Debt Rattle May 10 2026
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Douglas Percy Bliss High Noon, Windley 1951 • US Reportedly Struck 4 Iranian Oil Tankers Entering The Strait (ZH) • Qatari LNG Tanker Transits Hormuz
[See the full post at: Debt Rattle May 10 2026]https://www.unz.com/cjohnstone/theyre-attacking-online-anonymity-and-other-notes/
Saying “anti-Zionism is anti-semitism” is just saying you want more anti-semitism. Insisting that everyone erase the distinction between people who happen to be Jewish and people who support a genocidal apartheid state is saying you want more people to hate Jews. The harder you make it for everyone to hold that distinction, the less that distinction is going to be made.
If you insist that everyone needs to choose between hating Jews and supporting genocide, a lot of people are going to choose to hate Jews. It’s not a choice that actually needs to be made, but a lot of Zionists are insisting that everyone has to choose.
Anyone who says anti-Zionism is a hate movement is a lying, manipulative hatemonger. Making a distinction between Judaism and Zionism is a good faith effort to reduce hate. Everyone who insists on erasing all distinctions between the two is working to increase hatred of Jews.
Information for Observers
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian revealed on Thursday that he for the first time recently held a meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei, at an undisclosed location, and that the encounter was a long and productive one. State media said it was two-and-a-half hours.
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Information for advisors/influencersPresident Putin take swipes at NATO and the West, saying he’s fighting “just” war and called Ukraine an “aggressive force” that is being “armed and supported by the whole bloc of NATO”.
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Information from the doers/elite/leader.Watch what we do. Don’t believe the lies.
A prisoner swap of 1,000 detainees from each side.
———–Information from the people
🚨 HOLY CRAP! UK PM Keir Starmer has LOST over 1,303 Council seats
His Labour Party has lost WALES for the first time in 100 years
Nigel Farage’s Reform SURGED over +1,400 seats! 🤯
THE PEOPLE ARE FURIOUS!
—————Great new artists on rotation lately. Like both these.
“More “Love Taps”? US Reportedly Struck 4 Iranian Tankers As Qatari LNG Tanker Traverses Strait
Let me say more directly: But I thought. The US Navy. Couldn’t stop. Unarmed ships. Going 4mph.
Which is what we pay them a trillion dollars for.
The Germans here are played by the Iranians: TalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalkTalk. The other side: A lot of Ungentlemanly Shooting and stabbing in the neck. Then blew up their boats.
Does that make it right? Well it makes one side dead, so it makes that side the winner.
“Iran Publicly Discloses Supreme Leader’s Status For First Time: ‘Marginally Injured’
Totally not hurt this whole time, that’s why they haven’t shown him even once in a month, allowing all rumors to grow and spread. …It’s all part of the master plan. They did not show him again today with this release: which is also part of the master plan. Trust me Bro’ Plan. Isn’t that what the Iranian Press Office just said about the Americans?
““Doesn’t Look Good”: Explosion Rocks Major New Orleans-Area Refinery As Fuel Markets Tighten
Please tell me this is Iran actually hitting something for once. I’ve lost all respect for them when I ruin more stuff in a normal workday than they do.
“Scott Ritter : Putin’s Long War; Trump’s Quick Defeat” — Judge Napolitano – Judging Freedom
Ritter, you JUST SAID that Iran’s win comes from attrition, from staying in the game over TIME. NOW it’s the OPPOSITE, that the US will unconditionally surrender because two months. I guess Iran ran the Blitzkrieg on us. We’re shattered after zero attacks.
Generals, Colonels, hardened Marines like Ritter are surrendering left and right! Zero Attacking incoming!!!!! Albany has been shelled with nothing non-stop for 60 days. Scott climbs down from the mountain and shouts “Stop! Stop this madness! I cannot stand another day of peace and utter silence in our great state capital! Have you no humanity!”
Why do I have to do this? Can’t they just, you know, have a gram of logic and not lie?
Let’s put it this way: in Iraq, the argument was “It’s IMMORAL.” We shouldn’t be there. It was wrong, there was no sound legal basis for the attack. EVERYONE on this one isn’t arguing that — because it is true? Inexplicable. — they are arguing that the U.S. LOST and must surrender. That very clearly is NOT true, but maybe for a change you’d like to put the word “Morality” back in your mouths and I’ll start treating your arguments with respect.
And most probably, Iran is now pumping the oil, putting it on ships, then just releasing it into the Gulf. It’s not an “Oil Spill” at all, it’s intentional. Okay, we’ll find out. Odd for the world’s most moral state to do rather than sell it. This is at Kharg, totally different than Jask, so there’s a lot going on. And so if I’m going to pick on “moral states” then the U.S. caused this oil spill and fire. They still have given no special case, I mean “Nukes” but why today?
Luongo had one I missed: we boarded a Chinese ship and publicized it. Why? A: It was carrying mega-tons over very specific ballistic missile precursor fuels. That may not be front page bc: Chemistry, but insiders will take it as a confirm Iran was definitely trying to have long-range ballistic missiles. (and said they weren’t.) Needs confirm.
“but Tehran allows ships from “friendly” nations, primarily China, India, and the UAE, to pass”
But Iran has bombed the s—t out of UAE. And they’re “friendly”? Nevermind. I give up.
“Trump has changed his approach to prioritize reopening the Strait of Hormuz at all costs while leaving nuclear and ballistic missile negotiations for later”Also don’t think this is true. Check author for which of us is mistaken.
Luongo hasn’t been right on this overall but not wrong either. It’s an interesting take. But he’s saying the point of all this fluster is to have events that make it seem Iran has “control” of the straits, they need to keep in the news. So far each step is weaker and weaker as one would expect, and they are sending out every ship on a complete suicide mission for PR, essentially. Like Zelensky and just as successful: that is, every single person dies for no reason. Again, to keep up the HEADLINE reality that they’re in the game. As the British Media will print anything false they can find, this works well. But Trump is fighting a war in tangible reality, which is different.
“The UK will deploy HMS Dragon warship to the Middle East as part of planning for a European-led mission to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz once there’s a stable ceasefire”
So when there’s complete peace they’ll come in? And do what? Watch the peace?
“Caught On Tape: California Billionaire Tax Architect Admits Wealth Confiscation Could Go Even Further
So they wipe out one billionaire, put him in a drug-needled tent, for every MILE of high speed rail. It might come as a shock to you, but billionaires are actually pretty rare? Like you could wipe them all out and not make it to Bakersfield? So perhaps you have a SPENDING problem. And since we see there are no visible services provided, even clear and measurable ones, then you have a CORRUPTION problem? That is, it’s all spending, not taxing, and 90% of the spending is graft, as we see in Minnesota.
Yes, you can always have more corruption than production. That’s easy and the natural state of man if not resisted.
“Obama is running a Shadow Government which Democrats are lock stepping with, undermining President Trump”
Except there is no “Obama”. He’s a CIA cutout. Can’t say he’s an “Agent” at this point, but he is head of the standing committee of Globalists and Lettermen worldwide which includes our CIA and Derp State. IF ONLY it were just him. Now Trump said, all this negotiations leaked, because Obama has a man IN THE ROOM and is scuttling it. And if he keeps up with it, he’ll summarily arrest him on Logan – that is, pretending to be a diplomat and negotiating as if you represent the U.S. Which he is, and has done since the day he left. Same people: worldwide “CIA”/”MI6” Empire, giving orders to their Mafia soldiers and Capos. Not the man personally.
So it’s pretty hot. So? Don’t flap your gums: arrest him or ferme la bouche.
PS The Don is not “One Man” either, don’t kid yourself. He’s part of the same sort of Team and Collective.
“• Putin Rips NATO Aggression At Scaled-Down Victory Day Parade (ZH)
Worth mentioning. This small shift of balance has meaning. What meaning though? I mean, they were forced from “Never, no time, no how” absolutism to a tiny concession that doesn’t kill them. Since they’re profoundly mentally ill, this matters. And that it’s not really Pro or Anti Nazi, it’s just Pro Normal.
“Starmer’s Labour Party ‘Wiped Out’ In UK Elections (RT) “Both parties are gone, however Reform will be gone too, as they are the all- Tory, unlimited immigration party, that is the “Fell for it again award” “Bait and Switch” Party. Restore is going to take all three, but they only just formed and don’t have the full Party Machine operating yet. They did as well as expected.
Greens are going to be the Muslim Party, almost starting now, as their winners answered the BBC interview camera in Pashtun, not English. As general, Green are Golden Retrievers who naively trust anyone on anything, and the minute Islam can they will take it over. Green is too naive to REALIZED they’ve been ousted from their own power and will continue on like idiots taking many years to sink in there is no more of their policies or people being pushed.
German Greens, but are the taken over pro-rabid-war party, with no green policy left at all anyone can think of. BECAUSE they are Utopians and so credulous they will believe anything. Perfect example of, If the world were made of peaceful sheep, a single wolf would rule them. That’s why humans are not built as sheep but have subclass variations. Some are wolves, some are sheepdogs, and some are plowhorses, like perhaps Cincinnatus.
“Merkel has destroyed the economy so badly it now looks like the East-German economy she comes from: all is State.”
Are the Americans actually worse on this? We hide it, but isn’t it mostly the same?
“In Germany’s case, it turns out the nascent recovery was almost entirely fueled by state spending while the private sector is in virtual free-fall.”
Well maybe. Biden levitated the whole thing by importing 10 million illegals and printing $1500 a month while Americans starved just to get GDP. But as of this Administration the direct opposite is strongly happening. We did the opposite of this, firing all Feds and hiring privates. We’ll see which works better, but we’ve run this experiment non-stop since 1867.
https://media1.tenor.com/m/vUvrvCexnrYAAAAd/can%27t-believe-that-didn%27t-work-johnny-lawrence.gifLink issue?
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXwibExnLht/Just a reminder: Government CONSUMES things, and produces nothing. When it “Produces” something, it’s a bomb, which goes “Boom” and is a dead loss, even taking more wealth with it, if such a thing is possible.
Calvin and Hobbes: Management/Labor. YOU work in the Uranium mines, WE will write papers in University and eat jam. We all must make sacrifices, but some sacrifices are more equal than others.
“troops that are currently stationed in Germany and move them to Poland.”
That’s closer to Russia. Explain? Poland takes Russia’s side in the upcoming Nazi war due to social values they’ve upheld?
“2 years to go. Is the US ready for a Latino president?
• Is Marco Rubio The New Heir Apparent To Trump? (ZH)Is he Latino? What does that mean? Why would I care? I’m not sure he’s a “Natural” citizen, tho, suspect not. That hasn’t stopped anyone yet, but is great blackmail. Psychics have seen that he is the next President, as completely inexplicable as that is, but him being competent for a year is likewise inexplicable. I wouldn’t say “moral” but his actions have anchor, foundation? Also inexplicable. He’s the new furry mascot for the White Hats, as Trump is also a mascot. That would make sense of it.
Why not Vance? Not sure. I agree there’s something fishy there, but can’t put my finger on it. Very sure it’s not that his single mother led him to have two names though. Very sure that’s not the issue.
Euro-wages: Probably as I understand it true, but I doubt this is a fair representation of it. What’s the income value of free health care, for one, and to make $130k, you’d have to be the franchise owner, I would think, and only in that one cherry-picked city, etc. Not that it can’t happen. When you look at, say, what you own, square feet houses, etc, piss poor in America as an aggregate come out ahead. You might say in dangerous areas but Europe caught up everywhere and there’s a stabbing a day in London. …Lots of competition for haircuts, the BBC reports.
“The world’s 5 largest energy consumers”
Energy = GDP. You’d think it wouldn’t be, but it’s the closest thing to 1.0 in economics.
“The veil draped over the body of Christ was rendered with such impossible precision”
We’re not entirely out of Easter, so the Shroud of Turin was AI unwrapped, flattened, to get a good rendering. …Except the beard is all screwy. Yes. Because it was clearly written they plucked his beard as part of the lashing and crown of thorns part and the shroud seems to reflect this. That seems supernatural care on the part of any forger. As said last time, the image is not blood, paint, a physical thing on the fibers. It’s as if it had been microwaved or burnt, photodeveloped. So someone invented photography to forge it, then hid the technology for another few hundred years.
TDK: Yes, and what we on the outside can’t understand is that they want to get Jews killed ON PURPOSE. THEY are the ones who arrange and advance the Pogroms.
Look at Soros: “Best time of my life” he says, helping his Uncle (another Jew) liquidate Jews for the Nazis (ie turn them in and steal their stuff). You’ll find this all over, including the 3rd Reich, but in USSR as well. We look at them as inexplicable footnotes, traitors, but what if they’re not?
Look at it this way: You’re Reservoir Dogs, and you’re robbing a jewelry store. But rather and GUESS who’s going to get caught, you pre-arrange ahead of time for one of the crew to get caught as a bone to the police, who will stop chasing once they bite something. Perfect.
Mafias DO do this, you know. In several ways, but saying it’s not unusual. But suppose you’re the TOP of the … I dunno, let’s say the IRA. The PLO. But now you’re learned stuff that’s bulls-t, that the IRA is actually some big MI6 front, born and run by MI6, as the PLO is a whole creation of Mossad. That is, after fighting and dying, you realize this is just another layer of “The Matrix” the 3rd fall of Zion, all planned, and you’re just “Goldberg”. Or like Hunter, like Michael Corleone, you’re born into it, and it was expressed to you this, everything, everybody, the police, the politicians, your people, their people, normal people, are ALL just another scam. They’re all fake. Every. One. There’s no judges. There are no Congressmen. Almost no one isn’t on the take, like way under 1%, like Breitbart, like Assange, who are easily dealt with, any way you feel like.
There is no God. There is no “Cause”. There’s a scene in the Godfather where he gives the ultra Catholic faith of good and right while his armies are out shooting everyone in NYC. Be believes nothing.
Being “Jewish” means nothing either: just bulls-t for the rubes. The guys at the top aren’t Jewish. They’re beyond that. I mean, if they ever even thought they were, or any of it is real at all. So what’s the difference? The important thing is for YOU to survive, your family, your money, power, your line. So start a casino fire to hide and escape. Start a civil war that lets you overturn the monopoly board when you started losing.
….Or feed your “own people” into a pogrom in order to get good graces and escape. They’re not “Your People”, you see. You’re not Jewish, and you don’t see the rubes, the normies, as having any value. Like Army Privates, they exist to be killed when needed. That is their purpose.
I believe this is exactly what DBS believes as well, with the addition that they may HAVE a religion, the religion of POWER and SELF and ritual which the rest of us call “Satanism”.
So yes, not only ARE they killing their own people, the Jews, they are doing it ON PURPOSE. And they are doing on purpose HOPING they will all be killed and satisfy the Crowd at Barabas. The police are off the scent, the rubes go “Antisemitic” and miss the true evil, allowing it to escape with all their money 500th year in a row. They change towns, change names, and it all starts over again. Once the heat is off, they put on a tiny hat and pretend to be “Jewish” again, so they can once again hide behind that community, and murder every one of them should the need arise.
One more thing: It’s not only the Jews that do this. We see that plenty clear as every working person in America, or worldwide, is also murdered by their “own people” their own leaders, but can be seen well in UK and Canada right now.
Sad subject. Get out of crayons. Who, EXACTLY is doing what? SOME Italians, the Dons, are sacrificing SOME Sicilian townsfolk, the non-families. SOME Europeans are killing ALL the townsfolk, while hiding on their palatial estates. The Average Jerry may thing “we are the same people” but the Leaders don’t. Same here.
Two years from now Dan Quayle will rejoice in knowledge that there is, finally, someone in the top admin who speaks Latin.
Christ in that sculpture looks like vacuum packed and drape has way too many folds for my taste.
There is no alchemy in that work. For capable sculptor sculpting draped or non draped body makes no difference.Assuming We Have Food https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/assuming-we-have-food
We have been using diesel, coal, natural gas and gasoline as rapidly as possible to economically compete amongst ourselves, as is our human habit. Whoever creates and uses more fossil-fuel energy has more power to harness right away, and power-on-tap is what wins human competitions in industry, agriculture and war.
We are coming to an uneven end of the epoch of MORE, and those people, countries and alliances that undergo energy curtailments first are comparatively weakened, such as we see with the EU since it has curtailed use of Russian gas and oil. A hard curtailment is starting to hit much of our world, particularly farmers planting spring crops, who have less fertilizer than usual. Fertilizer triples crop yields. That is the food-baseline.
Many farmers will not plant at all if they can’t afford or get fertilizer, since they would lose money. Staple foods like grains and beans will be produced in much lower quantities this year, presumably hitting animal feed supplies very hard, but also human food supplies. Marginally fed areas will undergo famine, right?
How long and how hard this shock will persist remains to be seen. It is already destined to be bigger than both 1970s oil shocks combined, and those changed our world, our ways of living, and how we managed transportation at all levels, to this present date.
We have long assumed that we could readily meet our fundamental needs for food, fuel and shelter from the elements. I don’t assume that going forward.
I am fortunate to have been in 10th grade during the 1973-1974 Arab Oil Embargo, so the lessons were not lost on me, and I integrated them into my worldview.Nate Hagens, Why the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart: A Superorganism Speed Round
Most people believe that money powers the world, but this is a narrow viewpoint. If we zoom out further, it’s really energy. Animals were the first investors, spending calories in order to gain more. This surplus energy built organisms, ecosystems, and eventually human cultures and the civilization we experience today.
Two centuries ago, we tapped into the stored energy of ancient sunlight in the form of coal, oil, and gas. A single barrel of oil, when combined with a machine, can do around five years of human labor for mere pennies. It’s portable, concentrated, and incredibly cheap magic. This fossil jackpot underpins the phenomenon I call the Carbon Pulse – a one-time release of energy that’s been stored over deep geologic time. In under 200 years, we’ve burned what took millions of years to form. This isn’t a paycheck that keeps showing up in our bank account, it’s a trust fund with which we’ve been throwing a planet-wide party.
When paired with machines, this huge energy surplus has done wonders. Population, production, and profits have all soared, powered by an invisible fossil army equivalent to half a trillion human workers.
But such power also comes with blind spots. Our culture confuses the tiny cost of fossil energy with the enormous value it provides us and ignores the pollution impacts almost entirely. We built a global economy that’s fully dependent on these two hidden subsidies, without acknowledging or even seeing them…
..Emergence and the Superorganism
In nature, complexity builds through flows of energy and materials. Forests, coral reefs, and even brains all emerge from this dynamic. Human systems are no exception. Cities, economies, and technologies are all self-organized as emergent structures powered by energy and shaped by matter. From simple patterns like this, nature creates beautiful patterns…
..If we zoom out far enough, human civilization itself starts looking and acting like a giant organism with its own metabolism. Data flows, echoing neural signals, while highways and shipping lanes function like veins and arteries with gasoline and diesel as blood. Fractal nodes in the global system require a higher and higher baseline metabolic requirement each year.
What has emerged is something new and massive: a globally-synchronized economic Superorganism, built from energy, machines, and billions of human decisions, all driven by both biological and cultural incentives.
This Superorganism is mindless, unplanning, and energy-hungry. It isn’t evil, it doesn’t feel, and it doesn’t care about equity, ecology, or human wellbeing. It solely optimizes for throughput, scale, and for more – even when more becomes the problem. There is no mastermind behind the wheel, only billions of incentives aligned in the same direction toward extraction and consumption.
We’ve inadvertently built a system that rewards material expansion, not wisdom, and we’ve outsourced our decision-making to markets and algorithms. As a result, we have consumed more energy and materials in the past thirty years than all humans before us combined. Our current culture feels and acts like it will continue forever, but infinite growth on a finite planet is not possible. Technology on its own won’t save us, because it runs on the same fuel and has the same master.
The Superorganism cannot see what’s coming. It doesn’t anticipate, it only reacts – and the signals it reacts to are prices set for profits, which ignore the deeper long-term risks of constantly striving for growth.
So far, our collective response when we’ve hit limits has been to go deeper into ecological and biophysical debt. Buy now and pay later at a planetary scale, now in full effect. When central banks print money, they are not printing oil, copper, or lithium. They’re actually printing claims on those things. In other words, we can double the money supply, but the fossil fuels, forest, metals, and orangutans haven’t doubled. The financial system assumes endless growth, but in the physical world, both the sources and the sinks, have limits.
Down-Slope of the Carbon Pulse
For over two centuries, growth has been our default, fueled by energy and abundance and amplified by financial systems. But we are now hitting ecological, energetic, and social constraints. The cultural story of “more” is colliding with physical reality…
..The up-slope of the Carbon Pulse brought growth and complexity. On the down-slope, the inverse will happen: less energy, less complexity, less “more.” This phenomenon is what I call the “Great Simplification,” and is also the namesake of this platform.
This Great Simplification is not a “maybe,” it’s a “when.” The economic Superorganism is not something humans plan for, nor something we wanted. It’s an emergent phenomenon of large numbers of social primates blindly interacting with a large energy surplus. Downstream of aggregate behavior, as individuals, humans continue to seek the emotional states that served our ancestors. But now we live in a world of scale, speed, and stimulation they never faced. We are a species far out of context. But we are not just individuals, we’re also deeply social animals… It’s in our nature to shift once the story shifts too.
At the end of the day, the things that truly bring us joy and meaning are not tied to material consumption once our basic human needs are met. What fulfills us is ancient connection, purpose, time in nature, and being in service to others. Humans don’t need endless growth to live rich, meaningful lives…
..So what can we do as this Superorganism reaches old age? The responses fall into four broad categories, in my view:
Policy: biophysical realism and planning for bending rather than breaking as we approach a Great Simplification.
Cultural: new stories, less hubris, and more trust and social capital.
Community: mutual aid, more localized food and supply chains, and ecosystem repair.
Personal: skills, mindset, connection, and meaning.
We can’t easily steer or stop the economic Superorganism, but we can plant the seeds for what comes next…This is already happening, and the stakes have never been higher for humans and the biosphere.
Power scales up – energy, money, control, hierarchy. Life scales deep – interconnection, regeneration, community. The future depends on which of these we feed. This is more than a crisis, it is a rite of passage for Homo sapiens. The Superorganism we are part of today is not our destiny as a species, but it is a fork in what could still be the long road of our time on Earth. So start the conversation. Build local resilience. Consider being more actively in service of life. https://natehagens.substack.com/p/essay-why-the-world-feels-like-itsThe Honest Sorcerer, Don’t Look Up! What previous oil crises can teach us about this one, and what to expect in 2027 and beyond
Everyone admits that what we are going through is the biggest energy crisis in history, yet western governments, the media and heads of corporations act as if nothing’s happening…
..And when the crisis does get a passing mention, it’s treated as a temporary phenomenon. Something, which will eventually (think: within a couple of months) sort itself out: the strait will be open soon, ships will return by summer, and oil will flow just like before in autumn… We are on track to lose 2-4 billion barrels of oil, or 6-12% of global crude and condensate production by the end of this year. No reserve or oil storage is big enough to compensate for that…
..And it’s not just crude oil, but fertilizer, sulfuric acid, jet and diesel fuel, naphtha, helium, aluminum, LNG—everything this bloody civilization needs for its survival… this crisis is shaping up to be the biggest humanitarian crisis in modern history…
..Now, with that said, let’s see what are the lessons to be learned from previous oil shocks. What to expect in 2027 and beyond? Will there be a return to previous flows, even if equipment takes months to repair?…
..1973/74 OPEC oil embargo
First, let’s see what were the major oil shocks in history, and what their impact were on global crude oil (plus condensate) output. The number one, which comes into everyone’s mind, of course, is the 1973/74 OPEC oil embargo… While it lasted only five months, till March 1974, it ended up quadrupling oil prices and causing severe gasoline shortages all across America and Europe. And these effects haven’t faded away with the crisis ending: oil prices remained elevated, sparking a global wave of inflation and kick-starting the de-industrialization of the West. It marked the transition from the post-World War II “golden era” of manufacturing prosperity to a phase of decline…
..The economic fallout from the event and the ensuing demand destruction, however, have resulted in suppressed oil demand for years to come. It took a full 32 months (from the start of the embargo) till world crude plus condensate production returned to a growth trajectory, surpassing pre-crisis levels for a sustained period of time…
..1979/80 Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War
Just four and a half years after the previous crisis ended came a second shock to the system. Amidst a popular uprising against the dictatorial rule of Reza Shah Pahlavi (imposed on the Iranians by a western orchestrated coup1) oil workers went on a strike, lowering Iran’s oil output from 6 million barrels a day in September, 1978 to 0.7 in January, 1979 (the starting point of our chart below). These news, invoking fears of another round of shortages, have led to widespread panic buying and hoarding of oil—despite the fact that production was restored relatively quickly… raising the cost of a barrel by 166% in little more than a year. Then, in September 1980, Saddam’s Iraq attacked Iran’s Islamic Republic, with the full intelligence and weapons support of Western countries. The war has led to a collapse of both nations’ oil production, reducing their combined (and already declining) output by 5 million barrels a day… ..Oil prices barely nudged, though. In fact, they began to fall, then stagnate. The economic crisis started by the energy price rally in 1979, had already made its effects felt—together with the energy saving measures introduced in response to the previous oil shock. Demand was falling…
..G7 economies were entering a double dip recession and a period of stagflation. OPEC nations began to cut their oil output to stabilize prices, but all they managed to achieve was lowering global crude oil output for many years to come. Central banks raised interest rates to stratospheric levels, investment plummeted, and neoliberal policies (outsourcing, financialization, privatization) ruled the day. It wasn’t until August, 1989—ten years and eight months after the crisis started—when world crude oil output managed to rise back to 1978 levels in a debt fueled economic boom. The second oil shock took a full decade to recover from…
..1990 Gulf War … Desert Storm destroyed Iraq’s military, and a UN embargo on Iraqi and Kuwaiti exports, imposed in August 1990, destroyed Iraq’s economy. Oil prices shot up (briefly), but crude oil output failed to return to 1989/90 levels for four years to come…
..The economic collapse of Russia and the Eastern European block—together with the continued deindustrialization of Europe—also played a role here. So while the economy of the West suffered “only” a year long economic recession in 1990, Eastern Europe entered a prolonged period of immense economic hardship following the collapse of its markets and trading system.
2007/8 Oil Price Rally… The demand for oil, moving, mining, feeding and building an ever larger world economy was on the rise, too—but supply was stagnating. The reason: world conventional crude and condensate production has peaked in 2005—as predicted—and unconventional sources (shale, tar sands etc.) hadn’t come online yet.
This irreconcilable mismatch between supply and demand has led to a worldwide price rally, with spot prices briefly touching $146 in July 2008 ($200 in today’s money). The spike didn’t last long, though. The great financial crisis of 2008/09, following the collapse of the housing market, left every business scrambling for cash; triggering a massive sell-off of everything… Oil prices collapsed within a matter of months—together with world trade and the demand for oil…
..2020 Pandemic Demand Shock (plus Russia/Ukraine) … 2020 saw the entire world economy grind to a halt. In response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, most countries around the world entered a lock-down, leading to a sudden drop in oil demand and seeing prices reaching negative levels for a brief period of time. 13% of world crude oil production was shut-in during April and May, then gradually began to recover as economic activity slowly returned.
The demand crisis then quickly turned into a lack of supply predicament in 2021. Despite oil prices recovering to pre-COVID levels in a year, oil production was still 8% lower than in 2019. This mismatch, fueled by a quick economic rebound and a slower than expected return of supply, saw prices surging 40% above pre-pandemic levels by late 2021. Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the fear of western sanctions completely crippling Russian oil exports. Prices doubled compered to 2019 levels…
..Following a hitherto unprecedented release from US strategic petroleum reserves in two waves, and as oil supply returned to pre-COVID levels two and a half years after the lock downs began, prices finally stabilized…
..What’s in common? The first pattern we can easily identify by looking at inflation adjusted per capita GDP figures (here showing the results for the world’s largest economy), is that oil crises are followed by a recession… Now, that we are facing by far the biggest oil supply shock in human history, threatening the entire world economy with a very long recession (if not economic depression), the United States won’t be spared either…
..While previous supply crises saw oil production drop 2-7 percentage points, this one took out 15% of global crude supply in one fell swoop. And the end is nowhere in sight. As of the time of this writing, the Mexican standoff between Iran and the US still holds, even as American consumers and airlines are hitting a breaking point. The demand destruction, which has ensued from each prior oil crisis, can… be especially severe in this case…
..If there is any historical analogue (in terms of magnitude at least) to the present crisis it lies closest to the Pandemic shut-in, or the deep recession following the Iranian Revolution and the Iran Iraq war in the 1980’s. Neither suggests a quick recovery on the other end…
..This is where the IEA study I wrote about last year comes into sharp focus again. We are rapidly approaching the point in world crude oil production where the ever accelerating decline of older plays eventually outpaces the production from newer ones—even without geopolitical turbulence. And with less and less new oil to be found, much of global supply now comes from legacy and post-peak fields… In America, the world’s largest shale play, the Permian, which was single-handedly responsible for much of the production growth after the pandemic, is also facing exactly the same predicament. It was getting harder and harder to increase production already, to the point where in late 2025 shale growth has entered it’s own long decline. And while higher prices could provide one final boost, the EIA forecasts US oil production to peak by 2027 no matter what…
..With the shut-in of the majority of Gulf oil production we’ve just got a lot closer to the point where global oil production tips into a permanent decline. In fact, it’s quite possible that February 2026 marked the highest point in world crude oil output. Ever…
..Based on this analysis high oil prices will eventually break the economy, and thus will not—and cannot be—sustained. Demand for oil is already in the process of being destroyed, and is unlikely to return during a prolonged period of economic hardship—further delaying the recovery of oil production. Since many oil fields affected by the blockade of shipping was already ageing, such a prolonged shut-in of production could damage these fields beyond repair, preventing their reactivation. So while a partial recovery is certainly possible once a solution is found to the geopolitical crisis at hand, the longer this stalemate holds, the lower that rebound in production will be. https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/dont-look-upGaius Baltar explains that Neoliberal Globalist Elites (left-authoritarian) and Zionist Neocon Elites (right authoritarian) have come to loathe each other, yet they need to cooperate effectively to keep ruling us. THE EPSTEIN CIVILIZATION AND THE ELITE WAR – PART 2 – FEAR AND LOATHING IN ELITISTAN
As discussed in part 1, I have postulated that there are two main elite factions – i.e. the Euro-Neoliberal faction and the Zionist-Neocon faction. The people in them have much in common:
Both are individualistic – i.e. they place more importance on themselves than the tribe they belong to. The Zionist-Neocons perceive the tribe or nation as a real phenomenon – but unimportant. They are willing to destroy it for cheap imported labor if necessary. For them the masses are best used as rentier slaves, or just plain regular slaves. The Euro-Neoliberals, on the other hand, don’t even perceive their tribe as a real phenomenon. For them the masses are a threat and annoyance which must be neutralized through micromanagement and oppression.
Both see collectivists – or the ‘tribe above the individual’ people – as enemies. Traditional socialists and traditional conservatives must be contained and preferably persecuted. Their political parties must be infiltrated and subverted – and banned if necessary. The working classes, both with blue and white collars, must not have any representatives in parliament or in society in general. Slaves don’t need representatives.
Both believe they should rule – not just other people but the world. Both believe they have the ability and the vision, and both are superior to the masses. The Zionist-Neocons primarily believe in (their own) superiority through reason while the Euro-Neoliberals primarily believe in superiority through virtue.
They are united by individualism and lust for power. Together they are rich and powerful – but apart they will be weak. They might lose control and get overrun by the collectivist hordes. Their relationship is a marriage of convenience rather than affection. In fact, they loathe each other – but they can’t get a divorce without losing their inheritance – which is world domination…
..The neoliberal part of society is not just narcissistic – but seriously cognitively and emotionally deficient on top of that. This group, all the way from the lowliest of supporters up to the political elites – and probably many of the financial elites above them, is completely delusional – not to mention incompetent. The Euro-Neoliberal faction is a clown show.
Now, let’s take a look at the Zionist-Neocon faction. Let’s start by taking a sample of the premier examples of this faction at the moment. Think of the current version of President Trump and people surrounding him, such as Pete Hegseth, Paula White, Mark Levin and Stephen Miller. Also think of the people running Israel, including Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and Netanyahu of course. What pattern do you see there?
These people, as well as the Zionist-Neocon faction in general, have the investment banker syndrome: if you are not a sociopath at the beginning of your career, you will soon learn to be one…
..As an exceptionalist you will have no sympathy for the people you despise. Everyone you despise will become a subhuman, including Palestinians, Iranians, Russians, and so on. Even former MAGA people are now stupid subhumans… Arrogance and the resulting exceptionalism are the main characteristics of the Zionist-Neocon elites. They are dangerous people who are capable of hating just about anyone…
..Considering what is going on now with the Zionist-Neocon war against Iran and the deteriorating relationship between the US and the EU, it seems that the rift is real.
It may very well be real, but that doesn’t mean it’s deep or permanent. What is most likely happening here is that the mutual hatred has become so toxic that it has escaped containment. It is now out in the open for all to see. Perhaps the loss of the glue provided by the Epstein network contributed to that. The all-important question is whether it will result in a real rift, a real divorce – or whether the factions will be satisfied with screaming and throwing things at each other.
A real divorce would have very significant consequences. The recent increase in loathing has mainly come from the Zionist-Neocon faction – which is ascendant at the moment. A real divorce would most likely be initiated by them – and for that to be successful they would have to assume total control over the United States. They would have to treat the EU as unwilling vassal – as opposed to the willing vassal it always was…
..The entire Zionist-Neocon establishment seems to despise the EU-Neoliberal faction now – and is not hesitant to express it. This loathing is not just directed at the EU, but at anything and everything associated with the EU-Neoliberal faction….
.Secondly, it includes absolute Zionist-Neocon loathing of EU-Neoliberal social engineering operations and constructs. This includes DEI, the trans movement, and wokeness in general. Previously, these operations were tolerated and even encouraged by the Zionist-Neocon faction. Now they are considered to be a sign of weakness and stupidity… There is a likely explanation for this Zionist-Neocon anger. It involves failure – something the arrogant Zionist-Neocons do not tolerate…
..These projects were the following:
Medical control of the world, particularly the COVID pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns and vaccination efforts.
The war in Ukraine against Russia – which has been ongoing since 2014.
The regulatory takeover of the world using the carbon ‘threat.’
These three projects were mainly planned and executed by the brain trust of the Euro-Neoliberal faction – although the Zionist-Neocon faction wholeheartedly supported and participated in them…
..These three structures were, for the most part, responsible for planning and executing the three giant Euro-Neoliberal projects. The UN structures handled the COVID project and associated projects; NATO handled the Ukraine-Russia project; and the EU handled the global regulatory gulag project.
While many people in the West, particularly in Europe, still believe in the Euro-Neoliberal cause and think these projects are going well, reality is somewhat different. They actually all failed catastrophically and have brought the West – and the elite alliance – to a state of crisis…
..This optimistic plan didn’t work. Instead of the ‘investment’ into the COVID project being paid back through the Ukraine project, the Ukraine project added debt and economic destruction upon the debt and economic destruction caused by the COVID project. The debt spiral and money printing that started with the COVID project continued on an exponential trajectory. Western economies are collapsing, also exponentially, and the costs of the Ukraine project are so extreme that they must be hidden to prevent the farm animals from getting spooked…
..There is an earthquake going on behind the scenes, and there is no Russian collateral in sight to prop up the debt. Without this collateral, things will spiral out of control – and the EU puppets must therefore persist with the war. The war itself has therefore become debt collateral for the West, particularly for Europe. If the war stops, this collateral will disappear, and the losses will be ‘realized.’…
..The most important project of the EU was the construction of a global regulatory system based on carbon emissions and associated virtue signaling. The plan was to extend this system over the entire planet… This monetary system would be enforced by the regulatory system underpinning it – and western power. The purpose of the system is identical to the reserve dollar – to be an extractive mechanism for looting the non-western world, and a control mechanism – rolled into one…
..The EU had pushed this pretty far and had even started handing out fines to non-western companies for breaching the EU framework in their own countries.
This hasn’t gone so well. To make this work the EU needed to set this system up within its borders because a product needs to be mostly developed before it can be exported. The result was the economic collapse of the EU…
..The EU/UN/NATO structures tasked with the projects were extremely valuable to the elites. They had plans for those structures – particularly regarding the expansion of western elite power globally. The world was to be conquered by these structures – by the soft power of the UN/EU and the hard power of NATO. The glorious successes of the Carbon Gulag, COVID and Ukraine projects would make them stronger and more influential globally.
That didn’t happen. What happened instead was the exact opposite…
..There are several reasons these structures have lost credibility but the main reason is that they have been unmasked. The ‘outside world’ has figured out what they are.
Exacerbating this, the extreme maliciousness, incompetence, and utter lunacy of everyone involved in these projects is now out in the open as well. The problems NATO has in Ukraine and the abject stupidity of its talking heads, the failure of the WHO in pushing through its pandemic agreement, and the failure of the EU in instituting its Carbon Gulag – are visible to all…
..The narcissistic behavior of EU leaders and functionaries has to a significant degree resulted in the EU being shunned internationally…
..To make things even worse, the three projects didn’t just fail. They pushed the non-western world together, resulting in the BRICS alliance and ongoing attempts to get rid of the dollar. The failure is ongoing and getting worse – seemingly without end…
..Donald Trump, and his Zionist-Neocon handlers, are now systematically targeting these failed institutions. Trump has left the WHO, is threatening to withdraw from NATO, has outright targeted the UN on many fronts, and he utterly despises the EU…
..The Zionist-Neocons published a new defense/security strategy to assert the role of America as the center of the Elite Universe. The EU, which had grown too ambitious with its carbon money scheme which threatened the dollar, was subsequently redefined – as Zionist-America’s bitch. Its focus should be on Russia while America attended to more urgent matters.
The next step was to pivot from the Euro-Neoliberal soft power to Zionist-Neocon American hard power. The soft approach had not worked and now it was time to take out the knives and start stabbing people…
..In America, the Zionist-Neocons also made an amazing discovery. They realized that you cannot fight wars and commit national suicide at the same time. They therefore started targeting the neoliberal suicide programs, including DEI, obese and trans-people in the military, and other such programs. Things needed to get done so the white boys were called back into the military – even those who got canned for not taking the COVID shots…
..Then, after a brief visit to Caracas to shore up their rear, the Zionist-Neocons started phase 2 of World War III by attacking Iran. This is where we are now – waiting for phase 3, i.e. China…
..But there may be a rescue plan in the works. The TechBros faction, mentioned in Part 1 of this essay, is on the move – and they mean business! They are lean, mean, and apparently Zionist.
Recently Palantir, the tech company, published a manifesto on how to fix America. Palantir is a CIA/Deep State construct masquerading as a company, like many other Silicon Valley companies.
Their manifesto is intended as a policy paper, mostly on how to undo the damage the EU-Neoliberal suicide programs have done to America. As mentioned earlier, you cannot conduct wars and commit suicide at the same time – and the manifesto is all about that. It’s about waging wars and controlling the slaves… I pointed out earlier that if the Zionist-Neocon faction wanted a real divorce from the EU-neoliberal faction, it would have to consolidate control over America in a big way.
Perhaps the Palantir manifesto is a part of such a plan. Palantir and many other Deep-State companies, including OpenAI, are obviously working on some kind of a control grid for America – and later the world…
..The old idea of the American Technate has been put back into circulation. Perhaps we are looking at a structure intended to allow the Zionist-Neocon faction to divorce the neoliberals and put them in a cage with the rest of us… but the EU-Neoliberals and the Zionist-Neocons will keep working together for a while. Divided they will be too weak to deal with their sovereigntist enemies in the east. https://gaiusbaltar.substack.com/p/the-epstein-civilization-and-the-f63Larry Johnson, The Gulf Separating the US and Iran is Too Wide to Bridge
There will be no negotiated end to the war with Iran in the next six months because the US narrative and the Iranian narrative cannot be reconciled…
..Iran will never give up its supply of enriched uranium and, as a sovereign nation and signatory to the NPT, will exercise its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Iran will continue to support the Palestinian people and their quest for freedom and self-rule and will continue to provide assistance to Hezbollah. Finally, Iran will not compromise on its right to build ballistic missiles.
This, boys and girls, is called an impasse. The US position rests on a number of false assumptions. First, Iran is not the leading sponsor of terrorism and has not been engaged in plots to destabilize it Gulf Arab neighbors. Second, there is no rift between the political leaders of Iran and the IRGC… the President, the Foreign Minister, the Head of the Iranian legislature and the Ayatollah all fought and served with the IRGC during the war with Iraq. Third, Iran’s economy is beginning to revive thanks to support from Russia, China and Pakistan and from the high price of oil. Fourth, notwithstanding Trump’s claims to the contrary, the Iranian navy, air force and ballistic missile, cruise missile and drones are intact and able to continue exchanging blows with the US and Israel…
..Iran is pursuing diplomatic contacts with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait to restore the export of these commodities to the world under Iran’s PGSA. If Qatar and Saudi Arabia cut a deal with Iran, the US influence in the region will be castrated. If there is a global financial crisis accompanied by a major recession, if not depression, then the US will be under enormous pressure to make a deal with Iran that will restore international trade and shipments from the Persian Gulf. https://larrycjohnson.substack.com/p/the-gulf-separating-the-us-and-iranNaked Capitalism, Iran War: Iran Yet to Answer US Proposal as Recent Exchange of Fire in Gulf Exposes US Weapons Shortages; More on Poor Prospects for Global Economy, Resumption of Old Normal Gulf Traffic Levels
Julian Macfarlane sets forth the conflicting US and Iranian accounts of what happened and then tries to make sense of it in The Fudge of War:
There seems to be a difference of opinion. If the Iranian story is to believed the 3 Aegis destroyers were not exactly sightseeing in Hormuz, they were carrying out military operations against tankers, backed up by aerial assets, launching air strikes. Of course, Qesm Island, Bandar Khamir, Sirik are not only “civilian” sites, they are fortified sites for launching missiles and drones .
It would seem that the US Navy was testing the boundaries, carrying out SEAD strikes as per American military doctrine before exposing its three Aegis destroyers tasked with intercepting Iranian tankers. Or perhaps the tankers were just an excuse, with the real targets Iranian defenses along the strait…
The operation was conducted in two primary phases within the Strait of Hormuz…
Macfarlane then explains that on May 4,The USS Truxtun and USS Mason enter the Strait of Hormuz and are attacked pronto; a third destroyer, USS Rafael Peralta, arrives on May 7. The Iranians attack the trio bigly.
Back to Macfarlane:
The US Navy should have known by now that its ships would run out of ammunition in the face of dedicated swarm attacks, in this case missiles, drones and fast boats as I described yesterday. Did the Americans think that sinking a few fast boats would frighten the Iranians? And CIWS (close-in weapons systems) magazines are empty in just 20 seconds…
Once a vessel is reduced to CIWS, it’s in trouble. This is the point at which the destroyers fired off Tomahawks which could not, however, hurt Iranian launch sites which are mostly underground but I am sure they hoped would keep the Iranians busy. Each Tomahawk costs about $4 million. Aegis destroyers have 96 launch tubes, so carrying offensive missiles reduces the number of defensive missiles, a vulnerability under swarm attack.
Some reports suggest that the ships were damaged. CENTCOM says no but that denial is meaningless given who it comes from. These are the people who said the Iranians attacked them for no reason at all.
We had cited Donald Gorbachev yesterday on the significance of the destroyer firing CIWS, which is effectively a backup weapon and demonstrates depletion of preferred armaments. CBS reported the destroyers CIWS; OSINTDefender says the destroyers did not suffer damage…
..From the detail of Gorbachev’s tweet:
CIWS fires when the layered defense has failed. SM-2 missed. SM-6 missed. ESSM missed. RAM missed. The destroyers were down to twenty-millimeter Gatling guns at terminal range. CIWS fires for roughly thirty seconds before the magazine empties. Three destroyers fired CIWS. Three destroyers withdrew.
What forced it — not the top shelf. The IRGC did not need the top shelf. The launches came from the Bandar Abbas coastline. Coastal anti-ship missiles. Noor and Ghadir family. Possibly Khalij Fars. Cruise from the shore, ballistic anti-ship from the shore, swarm geometry from the shore. The shore is twenty miles from the Strait. The shore does not need a navy.
The Fattah did not fly. The Khorramshahr did not fly. The Sejjil did not fly. The deeper magazine sat in the silos. What flew was the coastal inventory the IRGC has been showing on parade for fifteen years. The middle shelf emptied the destroyer’s top shelf. The destroyers withdrew before the IRGC reached for anything else.
Game. Set. Match. How long will the US try to keep up this pretense? Yes, it can use some of its also-depleted air power to punish Iran. But this latest development confirms that there was never a hope of the US muscling open the Strait. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/05/iran-war-iran-yet-to-answer-us-proposal-as-recent-exchange-of-fire-in-gulf-exposes-us-weapons-shortages-more-on-poor-prospects-for-global-economy-resumption-of-old-normal-gulf-traffic-levels.htmlHal Turner, 10 U.S. Sailors Wounded; Five Others “Missing” After Battle With Iran Yesterday https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/component/content/article/10-u-s-sailors-wounded-five-others-missing-after-battle-with-iran-yesterday?catid=17&Itemid=101
Moon of Alabama, War On Iran: – Destroyer Battle – Iran Can Sustain – Losers Hold Cards
The current situation around the Strait of Hormuz is vague. We currently have what Chas Freeman calls (vid) a “ceasefire with Israeli characteristics”. Both sides continue to fight but try to avoid a larger escalation.
Yesterday the U.S. stopped an empty Iranian tanker coming from the Indian Ocean which was heading towards an Iranian port. Iran responded by attacking three U.S. destroyer which seem to have intended to pass, east to west, through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf.
The destroyers were driven off under intense Iranian fire:
American officials described the Iranian onslaught on three destroyers as fiercer and more sustained than a separate Iranian barrage that two of the warships faced only days earlier.
The vessels came under an intense Iranian assault as swarms of Iranian fast-attack boats maneuvered close enough that American warships opened fire to keep them at bay, U.S. officials told CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Over several hours, the American warships and supporting aircraft mounted a layered defense, firing their five-inch naval guns and their close-in weapon systems known as CIWS, officials said. Small-caliber gun teams on deck also engaged the attacking boats. American Apache helicopters fired Hellfire missiles, and .50-caliber machine guns were fired from the decks of the ships, as additional aircraft provided support overhead.
Iranian forces also launched drones and missiles during the confrontation, the officials said. As of publication, no casualties or damage to the ships was reported. (If you believe that last sentence please check out my offer of bridges for sale.)
The Iranian navy was clearly close enough to the destroyers to sink them. That it did not do so might well be a sign that it currently does not want to escalate.
After the attempt to seize Iran’s Uranium had failed with more than ten airplanes and helicopters lost in desert and after the failure of “Project Freedom” earlier this week this was the third tactical military operation attempt by the U.S. in which the Iranian side prevailed.
It confirms the recent ‘leaked’ assessment by the U.S. intelligence community that Iran can sustain this conflict (archived) and has sufficient reserves for many months, if not years, of continuous fighting…
..Time is on the Iranian side. Its economy is used to work under sanctions and pressure. The U.S. (and global) economy can not do without the oil, gas, fertilizer and minerals which are currently blocked in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. can not win militarily. It is losing economically.
All the White House may still be able to do now is to make peace with Iran (i.e. conceding defeat) while selling that a victorious outcome. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/05/war-on-iran-destroyer-battle-iran-can-sustain-losers-hold-cards.htmlMore “Love Taps”? US Reportedly Struck 4 Iranian Tankers As Qatari LNG Tanker Traverses Strait
US reportedly struck 4 Iranian oil tankers attempting to traverse the Strait
Qatari LNG Tanker entered the Strait for first time since start of war
US continues to await a formal response from Tehran on a proposal aimed at ending the war https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/qatari-lng-tanker-transits-hormuz-us-awaits-irans-response-peace-dealJohn Helmer, WHO GIVES A HUG – CHINA CHANGES ITS POSITION TOWARDS IRAN, US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was greeted by Wang before they sat down with their delegations to talk. The top row shows Araghchi approaching Wang, shaking his hand, then inclining his head forward. Wang, reciprocating, leans forward, and the two men embrace. They then draw apart, as each man smiles at the other…
If Trump “relapses into fighting” and does not “stick to negotiations”, Xi is communicating that Trump will not be allowed to land in Beijing next week. China will not permit itself to be Trump’s cover for attacking Iran, as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowed himself to endorse the Israeli-American war against Iran in the Knesset on February 25, two days before the war began. Wang is changing the meaning of what he told Rubio on April 30.
In the China Daily text report of the Wang-Araghchimeeting, the photograph was of the handshake, not the hug. That was not the only editorial cut. The China Daily text omitted Wang’s condemnation of the US and Israeli war since February 28 as “illegitimate”.
Wang’s spokesman was more explicit later: “China believes that bringing about a full stop of hostilities is of utmost urgency, a relapse in fighting must be avoided and sticking to negotiations is highly important. China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security and commends Iran’s willingness of seeking political settlement through diplomatic means. On issues regarding the Strait, resuming normal and safe passage at the Strait is a shared concern of the international community. China hopes that parties concerned will respond to the strong call of the international community as soon as possible. China advocates that the Gulf and Middle East countries need to take their fate into their own hands.”
“Fighting must be avoided…sticking to negotiations is highly important” – these are now China’s preconditions if Trump wants to hold his summit meeting and, as he promised on April 15: “President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there.”
China has just demonstrated it gives a hug – to Iran before the US.
The Wang spokesman’s “commend[ation of] Iran’s willingness of seeking political settlement through diplomatic means” is a reference to the one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding which the Israeli-American press also Saudi state media, are reporting as in current talks with the White House through Pakistani mediation.
Wang was also telling the Gulf Arab sheikhdoms not to rely on either American or Israeli, Indian or Pakistani promises and arms for their future security. But not only the Gulf sheikhs – “China advocates that the Gulf and Middle East countries need to take their fate into their own hands.” https://johnhelmer.net/who-gives-a-hug-china-changes-its-position-towards-iran-us/#more-94166 Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-05-10
IRGC threatens direct strikes on US forces. IRGC Aerospace Force stated missiles and drones are “locked onto American targets” and awaiting orders. IRGC Navy warned any aggression against Iranian tankers will trigger “heavy assault” on US regional centers and ships. Multiple sources confirm the posture is explicit and public...
..Bulk carrier hit by projectile off Doha coast. UKMTO confirmed a cargo vessel was struck while anchored, with Iranian media claiming the target is US-owned. This is a new category of incident — anchored commercial shipping targeted, not just tankers in transit...
..Iran moves to assert control over 7 undersea internet cables in Hormuz. IRGC-linked media published a regulatory proposal requiring permits, fees, Iranian-company maintenance, and compliance with Iranian law for all cables — which were deliberately routed through Omani waters to avoid Iranian jurisdiction.
..F-35A squawking 7700 emergency descending toward UAE. Active emergency transponder code on a US F-35A over the Gulf region. No follow-up yet on outcome...
..Hormuz: Iran operating as gatekeeper, not just blockade target – A Qatari LNG tanker, Al Kharaitiyat, transited Hormuz under IRGC-issued protocols — the first Qatari LNG vessel to attempt the route since the war began. Two earlier attempts in April turned back. Iran is running designated transit lanes, not a total closure.
US Central Command has now disabled four Iranian tankers in three weeks (Touska, Hasna, Sea Star, Sevda) and redirected 57+ vessels since the blockade began April 13...
..A 45 sq km oil spill appeared on satellite imagery near Iran’s Kharg Island, hub for 90% of Iranian oil exports. Cause unknown. Iran calls it “psychological warfare”. (shanaka86, Kobeissi)
Karel Mercx: tanker crossings at zero for an unprecedented number of days. For every $1 in physical oil, $83 sits in derivatives. The financial market is pricing the wrong reality.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected all three US red lines: no halt to enrichment, no export of 400+ kg stockpile, no shared Hormuz control. (shanaka86)
Israel reportedly told Washington any return to war must include strikes on Iran’s entire energy infrastructure within 24 hours, with Arab support…
..Energy supply chain stress entering agriculture and real economy
Thailand farmers are leaving fields barren because they can’t afford fuel/fertilizer since the Iran war. First ag country to enter planting season under the supply shock. (Rebecca Tan)
US diesel at $5.64/gallon. (Hedgeye)
Explosion at a major New Orleans-area refinery as fuel markets tighten. US refineries being pushed to breaking point to compensate for lost Gulf supply. (zerohedge, Carolina Lion)
US credit card debt hit record $1.3 trillion. (Hedgeye)
Chevron CEO: “We’re starting to see risks of supply outages”.
JPMorgan chart shows world oil inventories in freefall. When the line hits 6.8, “the global energy system breaks” per Qasem Al-Ali...
..Hezbollah drone war escalating
Hezbollah deployed fiber-optic wire-guided FPV drones, which cannot be jammed by electronic warfare. Scaling this would end the “easy walk” through Lebanon. (Lord Bebo)
15 drone operations in a single day on May 7: 7 vs troops, 8 vs vehicles. (Jon Elmer)
Direct hit by 2 drones in Shlomi resulting in casualties. (MenchOsint)
Hezbollah published video of 22 precision strikes in a single day. (Lascaris)
Israeli forward operating base in Iraq confirmed – WSJ reports Israel built and defended a secret base in Iraq’s Najaf Desert during the Iran war. When an Iraqi military convoy approached, the Israeli Air Force attacked it. (Berletic, Faytuks Network)
USAF E-11A BACN aircraft has been orbiting over the base location for 12+ hours daily, possibly supporting Israeli communications...
..Trump-Xi summit May 14-15: multiple chokepoints converge
Trump arrives Beijing May 14-15. Originally scheduled March 31, delayed because of the Iran war.
Four systems forced into one diplomatic window: Hormuz passage, US-China sanctions conflict (MOFCOM Blocking Order vs OFAC), rare-earth licensing cliff (Nov 10 2026), and Iran’s unverifiable succession under Mojtaba Khamenei. (shanaka86)
OFAC designated 10 entities under Iran missile/drone procurement on May 8. Treasury warned two Chinese banks. Any Chinese bank that complies with OFAC risks Blocking Order exposure; any that ignores OFAC risks dollar-clearing severance. No clean compliance path exists. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-05-10Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-05-09
Iran-US Strait of Hormuz clashes escalate again: US forces struck two Iran-flagged tankers (M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda) while Iran’s IRGC Navy launched cruise missiles and drones at three US destroyers (USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta, USS Mason). Iran claims hits and damage; CENTCOM denies. Destroyers confirmed withdrawn to Arabian Sea….
..3-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire declared: Trump announced a ceasefire from May 9-11 for Russia’s Victory Day. Ukraine promptly violated it with 1,365 recorded incidents including 887 drone strikes according to Russian MoD. Russia threatened massive strikes on Kyiv if the May 9 parade is disrupted; a recon drone filmed the Ukrainian parliament to make the point…
..S&P 500 closes at all-time high, 7,398: Up +17.2% since March 30 per @KobeissiLetter — +$10 trillion in market cap in 29 trading days…
..US consumer sentiment hits all-time low…
..Tucker Carlson says he told Trump to his face that Netanyahu and allies are pushing war on Iran for Israeli interests — Trump replied: “Yeah, I know”
Fox News: ex-counterterrorism chief says US spy agencies agreed Iran wasn’t building a nuke before war started…
..Oil Market Stress Intensifying
OPEC production collapsed from 29.6M b/d to 20.6M b/d — a 36-year low — in two months per @Ole_S_Hansen
Citigroup’s Max Layton warns Q3 pinch point could send oil to $180 per @Mark4XX
PBF Chalmette refinery in Louisiana exploded, adding to pattern of refinery incidents since war started
Refining margins at insane levels with refiners ignoring safety protocols to run at max capacity
US oil exports hit record 8.2M barrels/day per @Hedgeye
Physical oil prices converging down to paper, echoing 2020 dynamics — 700-800M barrel global inventory buffer being consumed…
..UFO Disclosure Drop — Distraction or History?
Pentagon released 162 UAP files, including video from UAE, Iraq, Greece. Created a dedicated “UFO” section on its website
Includes footage of an 8-pointed star UFO and NASA documents from Gemini VII with astronaut UFO reports
Trump: “What the hell is going on?” — praised himself for transparency
Multiple accounts call it a distraction from Epstein files and the Iran situation https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-05-09Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-05-08
US-Iran exchange fire in Strait of Hormuz, “ceasefire” in name only. US struck an Iranian oil tanker near Jask, then hit Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Port. Iran’s IRGC Navy fired anti-ship missiles at three US destroyers (USS Truxtun, USS Mason, USS Rafael Peralta). Trump called it a “love tap” and insists ceasefire remains in effect. Iran says US violated the ceasefire and vows “powerful response”…
..Oil supply crisis accelerating toward demand destruction territory – WTI crude at $97, up $7 from session lows. Opened 4% higher on fresh clashes
Eric Nuttall per @Mark4XX: Middle East output down 14 million bpd, global inventories down 700M barrels, physical shortages appearing in Africa, Europe, and Australia. Math points to $177/barrel for demand destruction
US gas prices at $4.56/gallon, up 66% since December per Kobeissi
US airline fuel costs jumped $1.83B MoM in March (+56%) to a record $5.06B. Carriers withdrawing 2026 guidance
UK facing jet fuel rationing risks, Goldman warns of “extreme physical tightness”
Iran cut production by 400,000 bpd
SPR release results still not published – JustDario notes it’s “starting to smell fishy”
Chris Martenson: US net imports crude because domestic production is the wrong type; exports only sustained by draining SPR https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-05-08“Existential”: Israel Quadruples Foreign-Influence Budget To Massive $730M https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/existential-israel-quadruples-foreign-influence-budget-massive-730m
Israel Escalating Abuse of Palestinian Prisoners in Janot Isolation Wing, Rights Group Says
The Asra Media Office of the Palestinian prisoner rights organization reported Thursday that conditions for detainees in the isolation wing Janot Prison inside Israel’s Nafha and Ramon prison are deteriorating sharply, with untreated skin diseases, denial of basic necessities, and systematic physical abuse by prison suppression units. Prisoners report widespread scabies infections going untreated, and are being denied clothing and bathing access. Raids by Israeli prison units involve strip searches, forcing detainees face-down on the ground for hours, physical assault, and stun grenades. Prisoners are then taken outside in handcuffs and left in harsh weather without adequate clothing — part of what the Office described as a deliberate campaign to break detainees physically and psychologically. https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/2052621156943909310“Ceasefire with Israeli characteristics”: Israel Attacks Beirut For First Time In Nearly A Month: Assassination Raid https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-attacks-beirut-first-time-nearly-month-hezbollah-assassination-raid
Israeli strikes intensify across south Lebanon as death toll rises to 2,727 despite ceasefire https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/05/08/362739/
Israel’s war on the West Bank comes for Palestinian greenhouses https://israelpalestinenews.org/palestinian-green-houses/
MSF: Israel’s deliberate restriction of food and aid led to alarming malnutrition levels in Gaza https://israelpalestinenews.org/msf-israels-deliberate-restriction-of-food-and-aid-led-to-alarming-malnutrition-levels-in-gaza/
Israeli shelling, gunfire target displaced civilians in Gaza https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/05/08/362721/
Times of Israel: Footage seems to contradict claim Arab prosecutor resisted arrest before cops beat him
Body cam footage leaked to Haaretz appears to show police officers pouncing on lawyer within seconds of entering Beersheba apartment https://www.timesofisrael.com/footage-seems-to-contradict-claim-arab-prosecutor-resisted-arrest-before-cops-beat-him/New $270 million Israeli-only roads project in the West Bank is Netanyahu’s latest bid to impose de facto annexation https://israelpalestinenews.org/west-bank-annexation-netanyahu/
30 House Dems Demand US Confirmation That Israel Has Nuclear Arsenal https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/30-house-dems-demand-us-confirmation-israel-has-nuclear-arsenal
Simplicius, Moscow Threatens Mass Strikes on Kiev Center Should Zelensky Disturb Sacred V-Day Ceremonies https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/moscow-threatens-mass-strikes-on
“Ceasefire”, but did not rain on the V-Day parade: Trump Gets Diplomatic Win In Ukraine War, 3-Day Ceasefire Declared For Russia’s V-Day https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-gets-diplomatic-win-ukraine-war-3-day-ceasefire-declared-russias-v-day
Gilbert Doctorow, Shortest ever Victory in Europe parade on Red Square https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/shortest-ever-victory-in-europe-parade
SOROS PAID OBAMA $1.6 MILLION A MONTH TO TAKE OVER FOR THE SENILE CORPSE NAMED BIDEN — THE DEEP STATE PUPPET MASTER LITERALLY BOUGHT THE WHITE HOUSE!
The paper trail they thought nobody would ever find is now public: When Biden was clearly a drooling vegetable who couldn’t function, George Soros stepped in like the globalist godfather he is and bought himself a new front man — Barack Obama. The Soros Family Trust funneled $1.6 million every single month from June 2023 through January 2024 straight into an LLC tied directly to Michelle Obama. That exact same window is when the FBI’s Autopen Task Force says the flood of fraudulent documents and forged signatures exploded. https://x.com/mcafeenew/status/20521174448657329133 Days Left to Prosecute Anthony Fauci https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/3-days-left-to-prosecute-anthony
RFK Jr. Says Mandatory Ultraprocessed Food Labels Are Coming
An HHS spokesperson confirmed that after hundreds of meetings with scientists and stakeholders at multiple federal agencies, a definition of ultraprocessed foods is almost ready. Last week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress that “mandatory front-of-package labeling” will be required once the definition is finalized. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/rfk-jr-mandatory-ultraprocessed-food-labels-coming-hhs-policy/Steve Kirsch, AI analysis of internal CDC documents from the 2004 DeStefano study on MMR and autism shows they violated protocol and unethically omitted a 2.25 – 2.4 odds ratio associating MMR and autism
Hooker’s analysis had OR=3.86 similar to values found in other studies; it is statistically significant. The CDC knew in 2004 that the data showed the association, so they destroyed the data. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/exclusive-ai-analysis-of-internalJohn Leake has a full report to date: Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius Cruise Ship – Latest reporting on the unhappy voyage. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/hantavirus-outbreak-on-mv-hondius
Meryl Nass MD, Now it’s Hantavirus! – Here are the relevant facts. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/now-its-hantavirus
I visited the Navajo Reservation, where I had just worked for 2 years, during this mystery outbreak, caused by thirsty rats and mice going to houses to find water, and leaving Hantavirus in their urine, which aerosolized and was inhaled, causing hemorrhagic pneumonias. A medicine-man had a dream that “mice are thirsty and going to houses”, which broke the case as to the cause: 1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Four_Corners_hantavirus_outbreak
Peter McCullough MD, WHO Blunder Imperils Remaining Passengers on Hantavirus-Infected Cruise Ship
Locked-down in cabins, HVAC system not sterilized from rodent excrement dust carrying virions, passengers are sitting ducks for fatal illness https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/who-blunder-imperils-remaining-passengersNatural Red Algae Protein Slashes Hantavirus Viral Load by >99.99% in Lab Models and Protects 80% of Mice from Lethal Infection
As the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship makes global headlines, a powerful natural antiviral—Griffithsin—remains overlooked. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/natural-red-algae-protein-slashesAnother single-stranded RNA virus… Why Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine Could Work for Hantavirus
As the WHO downplays ivermectin for hantavirus, the underlying science and preclinical data tell a very different story. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/why-ivermectin-and-hydroxychloroquineThe Vaccine Cartel and US Army Are Developing 13 Hantavirus Vaccines and Gene Therapies
As a cruise ship outbreak unfolds, the U.S. Army’s “needle-free” DNA gene therapy platforms come into focus. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/the-vaccine-cartel-and-us-army-areBacteria and fungi produce proteins that act as ice condensation nuclei in clouds, precipitating rain: How bacteria, fungi and plants evolved paleo-rain https://climatewaterproject.substack.com/p/how-bacteria-fungi-and-plants-evolved
Climate Physicist Anastassia Makarieva, Simplicity and Complexity, Doing and Non-Doing, Restoring and Preserving
A StoryMoss conversation with John D. Liu and Anastassia Makarieva, in anticipation of the Global Earth Repair Convergence
..Anastassia: Right now I am in St. Petersburg. But soon we will travel to Siberia, to the taiga forest.
Emmanuelle: Wow.
Anastassia: It is not possible to study something that you have not seen and felt. That is very important, because formulas do not communicate the full truth. But when you have seen the truth, you can write down the right formula — one that will have meaning, hopefully. That is at least how we think about our work: trying to make it meaningful.
Megan: Beautiful. Do you have internet there in Siberia?
Anastassia: No, no, no. No way. We do not even have electricity. You are totally immersed in nature.
We let ourselves be in nature. It is also a very particular emotional and spiritual experience, because you detach from the digital world and tune entirely to the green revival of nature.
In Siberia, spring comes and winter becomes summer very quickly. You see this burst of life coming from almost nowhere, and it carries you away with its wave. You feel that you are reviving.
And there are lots of mosquitoes. You go through all of this like any animal, and you feel that you are becoming part of it. That is very important. https://bioticregulation.substack.com/p/simplicity-and-complexity-doing-andThe Day Civilization Runs Out Of Bread Will Not Feel Like Fiction
One of the most disturbing conclusions emerging from famine modeling is that modern civilization possesses remarkably little resilience once synchronized global shortages begin appearing. International trade networks function efficiently during normal conditions precisely because they rely on predictability. Under extreme pressure, however, governments tend to abandon cooperative frameworks rapidly in favor of domestic preservation. Export bans would likely emerge within days of confirmed agricultural collapse. Strategic grain reserves would become politically weaponized. Transportation systems already strained by fuel shortages and economic panic could deteriorate rapidly, preventing aid distribution even when supplies remain technically available.
History offers numerous examples of societies destabilized by food insecurity, but the modern world has never experienced simultaneous scarcity affecting billions of people across multiple continents. https://madgewaggy.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-day-civilization-runs-out-of-bread.htmlSelf-preserving bread since 1570, an excellent short video: What Was Pumpernickel? The 2-Ingredient Bread That Lasted 6 Months
In the year 1570, a baker named Jörgen Haverland opens a shop in the Westphalian city of Soest. He sells one product. A loaf made from cracked rye kernels and water. No yeast. No fat. No sugar. No preservatives of any kind. He loads the dough into sealed iron pans, slides them into a stone oven, and does not open the door for 24 hours. When the loaves come out, they are so dark they look like they were carved from wet earth. The texture is dense, sticky, almost like cooked grain pressed into a block. The taste is sweet, though nothing sweet has gone into the dough. Haverland wraps the loaves in linen, stacks them in his cellar, and they will still be there six months later — unrefrigerated, untreated, unspoiled.
That bakery is still operating today, on the same street in Soest, still baking the same bread, still following the purity rule Jörgen Haverland established over 450 years ago. Today we are going to show you how that was possible — the grain that resists decay, the fermentation that kills mold before it starts, and the 24-hour bake that transforms raw rye into something chemically closer to preserved meat than to bread. Because this loaf was not primitive peasant food. It was the most sophisticated preservation system ever applied to a grain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R561wArN_84Around the world in 80 bakes, no.71: Westfälischer Pumpernickel from Germany https://polything.com/2021/10/16/around-the-world-in-80-bakes-no-71-westfalischer-pumpernickel-from-germany/
How to Make Pumpernickel Bread | Flour, Water, Salt, No Leavening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBlr_EA0gvw
How to Make a Sourdough Starter (with Rye Flour) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqp5CQnN38k
“Try it, You’ll like it”: Mestemacher Westphalian Pumpernickel Bread, 8.8 oz $3.49 ea https://www.centralmarket.com/product/mestemacher-westphalian-pumpernickel-bread-88-oz/4525001
Organic Steel-Cut Cracked Rye https://centralmilling.com/product/organic-steel-cut-cracked-rye/
2.2 lb Pullman Loaf Pan with Lid, 13×4 Carbon Steel Bread Loaf Pan Nonstick Corrugated Bakeware, Pullman Loaf Pan Bread Pan for Sandwich Bread, Sourdough & Homemade Bread, Heavy Duty Easy Clean (3) https://www.walmart.com/ip/2-2-lb-Pullman-Loaf-Pan-Lid-13×4-Carbon-Steel-Bread-Loaf-Pan-Nonstick-Corrugated-Bakeware-Pullman-Loaf-Pan-Bread-Pan-Sandwich-Bread-Sourdough-Homemad/20050271196?classType=REGULAR&from=/search
The Rye Baker: Classic Breads from Europe and America Hardcover – Illustrated, September 27, 2016 https://www.amazon.com/Rye-Baker-Classic-Breads-America/dp/0393245217
On the parade in Moscow, every single person on that square was glowing in shame at the sight of red flag featuring hammer and sickle.
What the knuckle heads, who “know shit”, would want to believe.BREAKING
Trump signs executive order replacing Old Glory’s stars with miniature renditions of his visage.
“We’ve got a plan to lease the Stripes to select advertisers willing to put down the kind of money only My America is worthy of. We already have pledges in the billions ‘lined up’. This kind of prime real estate doesn’t come cheap!”
Today an Iranian admiral talks about their small submarines in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Commander of the Iranian Army Navy Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has talked about the mission of small-sized submarines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Laying on the seabed in the depths of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz for a long time and intercepting and destroying different kinds of hostile vessels are among the capabilities of the Army Navy’s light submarines.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/244388/Army-submarines-monitor-intercept-vessels-in-Hormuz-StraitTo copilot
Comment: Coal, oil, N.Gas are our reserve of energy that are left over from previous living “things”
Answer:
Your comment is essentially correct — coal, oil, and natural gas are the chemical energy leftovers from ancient living organisms.
All credible geological sources agree that fossil fuels are formed from the remains of past life that accumulated, were buried, and then transformed over millions of years under heat and pressure.Here’s the precise, science‑grounded version, with citations.
Question: Is there another way of making this energy
Question: Is there another way of making this energy
Yes — there are other ways to make energy, but none of them recreate fossil fuels themselves.
What can be recreated is the energy function that fossil fuels provide: dense, storable, transportable power.Here’s the clean, structured breakdown.
⭐ 1. Can we make fossil fuels artificially?
Yes, but not at industrial scale yet.
Yes, but not at industrial scale yet.
There are two pathways:A. Synthetic hydrocarbons (“e‑fuels”)
We can manufacture oil‑like fuels by combining:Hydrogen (from water)
Carbon dioxide (from air or industrial exhaust)
Using electricity, we can create:
Synthetic gasoline
Synthetic diesel
Synthetic jet fuel
Companies like Porsche, Siemens Energy, and HIF Global already produce small amounts.
But it’s expensive and energy‑intensive.B. Bio‑oil / bio‑crude
We can convert:Algae
Crop waste
Sewage
Biomass
into oil‑like liquids using heat and pressure (hydrothermal liquefaction).
This is the closest analogue to “making oil,” but again, not yet scalable enough to replace petroleum.⭐ 2. Can we make the energy without fossil fuels?
Absolutely — and this is where the real alternatives exist.A. Nuclear fission
Extremely energy‑denseZero carbon emissions
Reliable baseload power
Already proven at global scale
This is the closest match to fossil fuels in terms of energy density and reliability.
B. Nuclear fusion (future)
Uses hydrogen isotopesProduces no long‑lived waste
Essentially unlimited fuel
Not yet commercially viable
Fusion would be the ultimate replacement for fossil fuels.
C. Renewables (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal)
These don’t create fossil‑like fuels, but they generate electricity that can:Power grids
Charge batteries
Produce hydrogen
Run heat pumps
The challenge is intermittency and storage.
D. Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be:Burned like natural gas
Used in fuel cells
Stored and transported
It’s the closest chemical substitute for natural gas.
⭐ 3. Can we create fossil fuels the same way nature did?
In theory, yes — but it takes:Millions of years
Geological pressure
Heat
Sedimentation
Anaerobic conditions
We cannot replicate that process at scale or speed.
⭐ 4. The real question: Do we need fossil fuels, or do we need what fossil fuels do?
Fossil fuels provide:Energy density
Storability
Transportability
On‑demand power
The alternatives above can replace these functions — but not always in the same form.
⭐ Bottom line
We can’t recreate fossil fuels naturally.We can manufacture synthetic fuels, but they’re expensive.
We can replace the energy with nuclear, renewables, and hydrogen.
The world is moving toward energy equivalents, not fossil fuel replicas.
Yes — future civilizations can harness energy far beyond what we use today.
And the size of those civilizations depends entirely on how much energy they can command.This isn’t speculation — it’s a formal framework in astrophysics called the Kardashev Scale, which measures a civilization by its energy capacity.
( Science fiction.)Just great…
Mr Trump is having a temper tantrum because Mr Netanyahu won’t buy him a candybar until every last nillionaire is dead.
Make America Go Away
please, dear lord, please
You will not change your mind.
Here is Help from copilot
The $1.7 billion was not “given” to Iran.
It was a legal settlement returning $400 million of Iran’s own pre‑1979 money that had been frozen, plus $1.3 billion in interest owed after nearly 40 years.
Please confirm with trusted sources.
1. $400 million — Iran’s own money
This was a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) trust fund Iran paid into in the 1970s to buy U.S. military equipment before the 1979 revolution.
The U.S. froze the account after the revolution.
This $400M was not U.S. taxpayer money.2. $1.3 billion — negotiated interest
Because the dispute sat unresolved for decades, interest accumulated.
The U.S. settled the case at the Hague Claims Tribunal, agreeing to pay Iran $1.3B in interest.
This interest portion came from the U.S. Judgment Fund, a Treasury mechanism used to pay legal settlements.3. Why it was paid in cash
Sanctions prevented Iran from accessing the global banking system, so the U.S. delivered the settlement in foreign currency cash obtained from European central banks.❗ What the payment was not
Not a gift
Snopes confirms the payment was not a donation, not a bribe, not a discretionary payout.
It was a settlement of a decades‑old legal dispute.Not ransom
The timing coincided with a prisoner release, but the legal settlement had been under negotiation for years.Not unfrozen nuclear‑deal money
This $1.7B was separate from other sanctions‑related assets.🧭 Why the U.S. owed the money
The U.S. and Iran had a binding pre‑revolution contract.
When the U.S. froze Iran’s funds and cancelled the arms deal, Iran sued at the Hague Claims Tribunal.
The settlement avoided the risk of the U.S. being forced to pay much higher interest if the tribunal ruled against it.🧭 Related but separate: ICJ rulings on frozen Iranian assets
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) later ruled that the U.S. had illegally frozen some Iranian commercial assets and must pay compensation — but not the $1.75B held by Iran’s central bank.lawfaremedia.org
This is a different case from the $1.7B settlement.
📌 Bottom line
$400M = Iran’s own pre‑1979 money, frozen by the U.S.$1.3B = interest owed after decades of litigation
Total: $1.7B = a legal settlement, not a gift
Delivered in cash because sanctions blocked banking channels
Everything in the claim is explained by the legal and financial structure of the settlement.
Obvious DTS – Deranged Trump Syndrome
Not yo be confused with TDS – Trump Derangement Syndrome.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uNJOxz_jtLTGZPFr22jdQw
Iran’s Supreme Leader Meets with Armed Forces Commander to Issue a New Plan of Action; Previously, the military said that light submarines were on standby in the Strait of Hormuz and still had new and more advanced weaponsMujtaba announced new measures and plans of action, saying that he would continue the previous measures to strike the enemy vigorously.
Iranian Army spokesman Mohammed Akraminia said on the 10th that if the enemy miscalculates again and launches aggression against Iran, it will face other unexpected options. These options include new and more advanced equipment, new ways of fighting, and most importantly – new areas of warfare.
Iran has taught the world the way to fight a modern war:
Dig in. Dig in deep.
Tanks, manned aircraft, and large surface ships do not matter.
Invest massively in drones and ballistic missiles.
Ruthlessly attack any country that allows its territory or airspace to be used to attack you, even if that country pretends to be neutral.
Low tech cheap systems – kamikaze drones, speedboat swarms, and even the threat of sea mines – beat billion dollar aircraft carriers.
Decentralise your entire war fighting system.
Massively, and I mean massively, bombard social media with your side of the story, especially in a form you’re target audience will recognise and consume (for instance, LEGO videos).Now let’s see if anyone learns the lesson. I’ll guess the answer will be no.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayastha | May 10 2026 15:44 utc | 6
.Observers can see, People are angry
As the world looks elsewhere, Israel continues to exterminate Palestinians in Gaza. Days in days out. Shame on complicit western media and all complicit governments.https://x.com/OmarHamadD/status/2051434790826512521
Omar HamadMassacres against Palestinian civilians in Gaza are still being carried out by Israel. Just minutes ago, another massacre occurred in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.
Lots of info at …
https://www.rt.com/russia/639804-putin-may-9-victory-day-recap-ukraine/
Russia offered help on Iran nuclear issue
Hormuz akin to ‘atomic bomb’ – Iranian supreme leader’s adviserREAD MORE: Hormuz akin to ‘atomic bomb’ – Iranian supreme leader’s adviser
Moscow had proposed assisting in resolving the Iranian nuclear program issue, including through the export of enriched uranium, as it had successfully done before. Putin noted that this earlier effort played a positive role in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the now-defunct 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.According to the president, the United States, Iran, and Israel initially agreed to the idea. However, both Washington and Tehran later hardened their positions: the US demanded that the uranium be sent only to its territory, while Iran proposed creating a joint Russian-Iranian enterprise on its own soil to dilute the uranium. As a result, the situation has reached a complete deadlock.
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