Share your sentiment. They bounce from Jew-hatred to Trump-hatred to America-hatred like caffeinated chihuahuas albeit with smaller brains and testicles and more yappiness. I've been quite enjoying the leftie pivot to the reflecting pool in the days before the Iran agreement. While sane DC residents were enjoing the weather, the now-beautiful and clean parks and World Cup visitors are extolling Buccees, brisket and American friendliness, the left turned into an all-algae-all-the-time complaint fest. "Nooooo....nooooo....the algaeeeee-eeeeeee!" Cheered me right up.
Please share with me again the rightie-right’s apoplectic rage over President Barack Obama once wearing a tan suit. Because I can never hear that story too many times.
Yep. When I read some of the comments on your site, (I can only stomach a handful each time), many of the comments strike me as being troll-on-troll, perhaps even a bunch of paid political hacks, or even dare-I-say, good ole USA gov agents of sorts playing silly games...
I heard him say he's the boss and he turned his back on that scumbag Starmer. He's upsetting the right people, so he's good with me. China is obviously backing him they cut back their oil purchases by 5mbpd. And Putin handed him the soccer ball remember. The media going ape about the MOU is glorious. Soon we'll be learning what Obama's JPCOA was really all about as he lamely whines that it's been copied.
If he betrays Netanyahu, I'll forgive him for his betrayal of the American people. Putin played nice with the Oligarchs (all but one Jewish) and then betrayed them. Why? Because they were sucking Russia dry.
Matt appears to be another case of psychiatric danger. He typifies the unstable liberal who can’t keep things together, and inevitably resorts to violence. Beware.
China may have cut the oil purchases for their own reasons. What they did was ban the export of refined oil (gas, kerosene etc.). China has a big share of the world's refining capacity so this accomplished three things:
1. Caused Chinese refineries to stop ordering any more oil than was required for the domestic market
2. Held down the global price of oil, and the price of refined products in China (i.e. kept the price of gas for Chinese motorists affordable).
3. Caused shortages and price spikes for gas (but not crude) primarily in countries which import refined products from China.
It is possible that this was explicit cooperation between China and US - but also may not have been as it was in China's (the government at least, although not the refining companies) own interest in any case.
Not sure Israel or China or both own Trump. The Rothschild mafia seems to "own" Trump if anyone does. They surely own Israel too - not sure about China.
So destroying Iran's Navy , Air Force , nuclear program , decapitating their leadership three layers down , destroying their economy and their military industrial capacity all while boxing in our main geo political adversary 'CH-II-NA ' in a manner of months while sustaining unprecedented minimal loss of US personnel is the biggest US foreign policy blunder in history eh ?Lol , what's hilarious is your misplaced sense of your own ability to sway peoples opinions away from reality in service to both your unmitigated TDS and your love of all things Demon---- ( Oh sorry James , I promised I wouldn't ) er I mean Democrat stealth self immolation of America party of deranged psychotic commie parasite LOSERS such as yourself !!!!!!! Now go take your sad pathetic attempts at " neuro linguistic programming ( you really must try the clams linguini , its absolutely to die for )and stick it where the sun don't shine Mkay " Matt" ? Nobody is swayed by your politically motivated malarkey . You think far too highly of your powers of persuasion( in the service of your psychotic and demonically possessed agenda . GFY .
I don't think we have destroyed Iran's military capability, nor have we boxed in China. China seems to be a big winner from all this so far to me - but it's always hard to know as an outsider what is really going on.
And FWIW it doesn't seem right to describe anyone who opposes Trump as a Democrat. As far as I can see Trump is a big government Democrat himself (the kind we used to have before the green/woke gang came along). I'm a conservative for example - but I oppose Trump because
- his geopoltical actions appear to be benefiting Israel at the expense of America
- his domestic policies seem to be economically ruinous (more spending, more taxation, more inflation)
- he seems to be immensely corrupt - at least on a par with the Clintons and Obama measured in $, and far more than Biden (who made headlines but seems to have been as useless at turning power into money as he was everything else).
Good grief, no one, especially the Iranians, could care less about girls placed in harm's way for political reasons.
Iran considers them martyrs for the cause.
Child Soldiers in Iran
An anonymous former Iranian soldier shared with an Iranwire reporter the profound impact the Iraq-Iran War had on his life. At just 14 years old, he was sent to the frontlines, robbed of the joys of adolescence, such as going to school and experiencing love. This practice of using child soldiers in Iran commenced during the Iraq-Iran War in 1980 and has persisted, with reports of its employment as recently as 2022. Notably, Iranian government officials specifically target children from impoverished families, enticing them with promises of financial rewards and martyrdom.
Martyrdom
After the 680 CE Battle of Karbala, the glorification of martyrs within the Shiite religion (the official religion of Iran) started. The Sunni Caliph Yazid killed Hussain ibn Ali, the third Shiite Imam and grandson of Muhammad, along with his fellow fighters (including children) during this battle. Due to the praise that martyrs receive, the Iranian government commonly recruits child soldiers by promising them martyrdom.
In 1979, Iranian ayatollahs (Shiite religious leaders) introduced child martyrdom into school curricula throughout Iran. They promised children as young as 9 years old that dying as martyrs against the Iraqi enemy would lead them straight to heaven. This teaching continues to be part of the curriculum, as a 2021-22 interim update report on Iran’s radical education revealed that authorities teach students to seek suicide or death in battle even when not required.
Common Duties for Child Soldiers in Iran
Clearing minefields is one of the common duties assigned to child soldiers in Iran. Former New York Times foreign correspondent, Terrence Smith, brought attention to the mine-clearing process that young boys were involved in during the Iraq-Iran war. Many boys between the ages of 12 and 17 would wear red headbands with inscriptions like “Sar Allah” or “Warrior of God” and carry small metal keys around their necks, symbolizing their “keys to heaven” as they prepared for battle.
Military authorities took measures to prevent desertion by binding the child soldiers with ropes. Despite facing withering machine gun fire, these brave children fearlessly hurled themselves on barbed wire or marched into Iraqi minefields to clear the way for Iranian tanks. Their courage and sacrifice in performing such dangerous tasks highlight the unfortunate reality of child soldiers in Iran.
Iran’s authorities exploit child soldiers as propaganda tools, showcasing them in pro-regime media with placards that glorify Iran’s involvement in various wars. Additionally, there are repeated mentions of children in speeches at parades commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Sadly, this practice of involving children in warfare only exacerbates the poverty Iran confronts.
Connection to Poverty
Approximately 60% of Iranians are grappling with poverty and among them, 20 to 30 million are living in absolute poverty. The use of child soldiers in Iran contributes to this distressing cycle. In their quest to join the war efforts, many child soldiers fall for incentives that particularly appeal to impoverished families.
In 2022, the Iranian government employed young boys to suppress anti-government street protests. Disturbing images of children and young men donning military uniforms and holding batons circulated on social media. Reports from more than 500 supporters of the Imam Ali Society, a local charity in Iran, indicated that authorities recruit these children from impoverished families, offering them a meager exchange of “a few bags of food.”
Moreover, poor families exploit their children’s “martyr status” for benefits. They receive monetary compensation per child involved in conflicts and a martyr card granting them access to food and other privileges. This exploitation of children as both tools of suppression and sources of financial gain further exacerbates the challenges of poverty faced by many Iranian families.
Solutions
The use of children as soldiers has long been a concern of the United Nations (U.N), but there are currently no reported Iran-specific initiatives to prevent this troubling practice. A governmental pattern of recruiting child soldiers persisted as recently as March 2022.
However, UNICEF has been diligently working to support children in Iran for nearly seven decades. Its efforts include providing essential services such as health care, immunization, proper nutrition, access to education and protection. Additionally, UNICEF maintains regular communication with Iranian authorities to safeguard children’s rights.
Globally, UNICEF has taken action to end the use of children as soldiers through its impactful 2014 Children, Not Soldiers campaign. This initiative, in collaboration with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, aimed to garner international support to halt the recruitment of children in conflicts. The campaign focused on countries like Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. Member states, the U.N., NGO partners, regional partners and the general public promptly rallied behind this vital cause, culminating in the campaign’s success in 2016.
Regrettably, Iran persists in using children as tools of war. But sustaining awareness about this critical issue and receiving support from organizations like UNICEF could play a pivotal role in ultimately ending the use of child soldiers in Iran, once and for all.
I liked your comment for all the pushback on Matt but I have yet to understand the necessity of war on Iran and only some serious actions in the next few weeks to follow up on the phase shift in what Trump and Vance will potentially bring back and put to the polls the majority of MAGA voters. That is, the Disaffected, who think he’s gone uniparty and no matter who we vote for we get Bibi
Looked at another way - unlike so many of his predecessors he does at least seem to have got out of the war fairly quickly. Assuming that he really has got out of the war that is - and this is not just a market headfake to make some stock moves before we start up the war again.
Mind if I tell you to “bug off loser” from up here in Alaska? It’s much kinder than tieing you to a tree and dousing you in bacon grease then leaving you to explain your miserable self to the bears😜
Clearly the algae and the peeling blue paint, following the award of the $14 million non-compete Reflecting Pool contract to Trump's favorite pool company, is all George Soros' fault. Just ask JHK.
Bath house Barry, by some accounts, likes them old and white, and according to Larry Sinclair, also likes it hard in the rump roast, same as you, it would appear.
The beta part applies very much to the angry little troll named Matt what a screwfly.
The London banksters are obviously the group that keeps funding Ukraine and Hezbollah, as you alluded to. What can be done about them? Or is it just a waiting game as they appear rather suicidal, given the sorry state of the UK these days. They are not our allies and likely never have been
We have been. Trump’s reorganization of the world’s power started his first term. Continues full steam. The reorganization starts with London. The UK is in its death throes. They have no money for the military. They have no willpower for the fight that must be done inside their own borders.
I have read/heard that Starmer is as dirty as it gets and the White Hats are blackmailing him into playing the role of useful idiot. Trump et al are going after the lower hanging corrupt fruit. I am not sure how much of what we see is theater or misdirection. I believe Venezuela was taken out of the equation well before we heard about that operation. This is so complex and convoluted it makes my head hurt.
The alliances and loyalties are complex and long-standing, so yeah, unraveling BS is a lengthy process. I figure at least 2 more administrations to get this done, providing MAGA stays strong and remains the voting influence it now has.
Only following up with action, the phase shift in what Trump and Vance have been saying for the last week will there be MAGA enough to keep Trump from impeachment
Those approval levels in the tank reflect the Boomers who watch Fox are the ones still buying
Leaving the majority of us let’s say not very motivated to get out and vote
The meme goes no matter who we vote for we get Bibi, it has a very Uniparty look
Only following up with action, the phase shift in what Trump and Vance have been saying for the last week will there be MAGA enough to keep Trump from impeachment
Those approval levels in the tank reflect the Boomers who watch Fox are the ones still buying
Leaving the majority of us let’s say not very motivated to get out and vote
The meme goes no matter who we vote for we get Bibi, it has a very Uniparty look
I thought that's what we were doing with NYC. (Movie, Escape from New York, is often brought to mind.) Well, 2 cesspools would be barely adequate for the number of idiots we need to dump in them.
And Mike Pompeo’s first meeting in his role as CIA director was to meet with his counterparts at MI6. Traitor! London has been the source of constant terror funding and the destruction of American markets for decades. And Trump’s whole point of everything he does is to take them out of the picture and restore American economic greatness.
They want their 13 colonies back as well as the rest of the Commonwealth back. Never got over the butthurt of their fore fathers when they lost it all.
isn't the U.S. also funding to the tune of $40million per week. From what Ive read, we can't get that spigot turned off by Congress. please correct me if i'm wrong on this, which i hope i am.
Great rat behavior analogy!😂😂😂 I’m hoping Trump is using this time to compile intelligence on the new IRGC leadership - who they are and where they live, so that when the inevitable misbehavior comes he can push a button or two and eliminate this new leadership (and perhaps their entire families) along with the various military/infrastructure targets. While this may simply become the lawnmower approach, periodically trimming back the radical Islamists, it would be reasonably effective, at least until another spineless Democrat occupied the White House. Thanks for a great post, JHK👍👍
Well if you prescribe to a biblical world view at all its common knowledge that evil can never really be completely eliminated on this here mortal coil ,by us here mortals anyway , and so your lawnmower analogy dovetails nicely into that .
Whether or not I agree with you JHK, and this time I mostly agree with you, I always appreciate your concise style and clear writing. English composition teachers should require that their students read your columns as examples or good writing
The US war with Iran is playing out very badly. . . just like the recent US wars with Iraq and Afghanistan did. The US has gone to war in the Middle East four times since 1991, and none of the wars worked out well for it. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different result. It just seems like the US is in a never-ending cycle of war in that region, "depleting" our military assets, therefore "requiring" that we fire up the armaments factories and churn out replacements. . .the military-industrial complex thrives on these pointless, endless wars. It's a shame. Our road/bridges/tunnels/infrastructure are all awful, and we can never seem to find the money to repair them, or stop going bankrupt generally speaking, but somehow we have untold billions for pointless, endless wars. Trump is accelerating the decline right now.
It's not insanity, TM. They know what they are doing and they know why they are doing it. They cannot justify a $ 1 trillion dollar defense spending budget if there is no war to fight. The military / industrial complex is one of the deep state puppet masters pulling the strings from the dark closets of the Pentagon. These wars have nothing to do with spreading America's chosen brand of "democracy." These wars are all about taking taxpayer dollars from us and from millions and millions of future Americans and funneling that money into the pockets of the CEOs of the Raytheons, Lockheeds, Boeings, Northrup-Grummonds and many others and keeping them awash with unimaginable amounts of cash.
War has become a financial commodity, just like our health care and our homes. Think of the economy having a war generates.
If these wars were about spreading freedom and stopping a tyrant the US would have been successful in each engagement. However, the fact that the US has lost every illegal war it has inserted itself in since World War 2 tells you that it isn't about winning the war and spreading freedom (The USA is not the greatest example of "freedom" these days). It's about money. It's always about money. War is always about money. The few elite making the bombs, missiles and tanks become incredibly wealthy while the rest of us suffer the depredations of war, either through being bombed or having our money stolen through the silent tax known as inflation resulting from the constant printing of worthless paper dollars.
I love Mr. Kunstler's writings. He's a very talented individual. But I disagree with him on America's inserting itself in all of these wars. Iran isn't the threat to the world. The money printing presses are and the printing presses run because of America's spending on its wars and bloated welfare state.
Nobody gives a shit about this. As long as Iran does what Trump tells them to do, that's all that matters.
I agree with most of what you say here, but how did we lose the Iraq war? It went like greased lightning for us. What we lost was the postwar occupation of Iraq, which was quite the cock-up. The war and the occupation were linked, of course, but not the same thing.
The slow train wreck of our occupation (same for Afghanistan) should have taught us plenty, but there is no evidence it did. How we pulled it off successfully in Japan and West Germany, but failed in a couple of anarchic sand kingdoms, should occupy many minds among politicians and military analysts.
@Cankerpuss Great comment, you explained very well how these wars and the war budget function. It's all a big grift, and a huge part of the economy now (since the elites gave away the manufacturing base, and financialization of what's left of the economy). Well said.
Unfortunately Iran is a threat to the world. They are only weeks away from achieving 90% weapons grade uranium while at the same time developing ICBM force. There is only a brief time for a few economically balanced partners on this planet to allow unhinged religious zealots destroy the future of humanity.
No, it is NOT threat to the world. Iran hasn't invaded another nation for more than 200 years while the USA has military bases in more than 150 nations throughout the world. But you are okay with that, right? For some reason you see Iran as a threat and the USA is the big cuddly teddy bear in the room. It baffles me. Iran doesn't even have enough water to supply its own cities and people and you think they are threat to the world? Please.
You've been watching too much Sean Hannity or listening to too much Mark Levin. Turn them off.
No, uranium enrichment from yellow cake reactor grade (5%) to weapons grade (90%) is exponential. At Iranian current levels of 60%, reaching 90% only takes 12 weeks. See https://missilestrikes.com/nuclear-status/
Wow. . .so, possibly, hypothetically speaking, in 3 months or so Iran MIGHT have enriched this uranium. . .and then in a few years down the line the could have constructed a large, heavy, crude, low-yield atomic bomb similar to the ones the US used in WW2. . .1940's technology. . .and they would, of course, have had to test-fire one to make sure it worked (perhaps by the mid 2030's) and, given another 50 years and a few hundred billion, maybe, someday, the could possibly develop miniaturized nuclear warheads, and test fire those too, and also develop accurate, long-range modern ICBM's, with MIRV technology (sometime within the next 100 years) and then. . .
Iran bought the plans for an atomic weapon from Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani nuclear scientist. Pakistan now has at least 170 atomic bombs and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran knows how to make something that works out of the box.
And, to think, why if Iran did acquire ICBM's, and miniaturized nuclear warheads, and an accurate way to deliver them. . you know, by 2126 or so. . .why, if they did that, North Korea might follow suit! And even Pakistan! And what if, heaven forbid, China and Russia got this technology? Wouldn't that be a dreadful state of affairs?
Oh shut up. God. Iran has been 3 weeks away from getting a nuke for 30 years.
New York incinerated? Tell me, Bill, who is the only country to ever actually have used a nuke on another nation? It's not Iran. It's the good old US of A. Ask Japan about that.
Iran hasn't invaded another nation for 200 years and they have not equipment or infrastructure to wage war against the behemoth bully USA on the other side of the world.
You're afraid of the boogie man.
Why don't you focus instead on the deteriorating state of the USA. The constant inflation thanks to money printing to fund all of these illegal wars.
I'm more afraid of the millions upon millions of illegal America hating immigrant interlopers enjoying a free ride on our backs than I am a bunch of poverty stricken Persians on the other side of the world. You don't care about this, do you, Bill, while they eviscerate our culture from the inside with our military spread throughout the world doing who knows what.
Mainstream media talking points only. You've been watching too much pro-Republican Sean Hannity. Name the last terrorist attack that has been sponsored by Iran on American soil, and I'm not talking about some illegal American military base a fart, skip and a jump away from the Iranian national border.
This is a most curious argument, Inisfad. You are telling me that the USA has the right to invade, murder or otherwise make war on anyone, any nation, anywhere throughout the globe as long as it is protecting Americans anywhere they stand? Is that the point you are trying to make?
I have lived in Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and Utah the majority of my life. I also lived and worked in Geraldton, Western Australia for 5 years. I lived in Guadalajara Mexico for nearly a year during a college study abroad program. When living in those foreign countries I knew fully well that I was OUTSIDE of the legal borders of the USA and as such had to rely upon the laws and customs of the countries where I was residing for any protection.
Do I believe anyone can kill Americans abroad without repercussions. Absolutely not. However, as one who has travelled and lived abroad I also understood that when I left the confines of the USA my life was in my own hands. The USA has no jurisdiction over the world. Period.
First of all, the US funded Iran and served as its de-facto ally under both the Obama and the Biden administrations, signing a treaty green-lighting its nuclear program. I am not concerned about people screaming Death to America who are paid with American dollars: that is just theater. Second, Iran never had a nuclear weapon. If Iran did develop one, it would be 1940's technology, a very large, heavy, crude, low-yield device similar to what the US used on Japan. People who really know about their program in depth have said that Iran's nuclear delivery system would be "a truck". To "incinerate NYC" Iran would first have to develop and successfully test fire a nuclear device, then spend decades developing miniaturized nuclear warheads that could be mounted atop an ICBM, and test fire those, while simultaneously developing ICBM's, and testing them. . .perhaps in 50 years with many tens of billions of dollars, they might accomplish that. Maybe. But, for the time being and the near future, they wouldn't be capable of even hitting NYC with a nuclear device in the first place, let alone incinerating it.
You're a thinker, TM. Not one who subscribes to the propaganda bull shit thrown at them by the puppet masters. Bill is. Makes me sick that there are still people who believe some poverty stricken country on the other side of the world is going to swim over there and nuke America. Can you imagine what it is like to be inside one of these peoples' heads? The fear. The hate. The Iranians are coming! KILL THEM ALL or they will kill all of us. Good God almighty!
US also allowed open borders and the bombardment of perhaps 20 million illegal aliens. They also, under the presidents you cite, basically funded a wide sex and drug trafficking agenda. What was done then is immaterial now. And who exactly are ‘people who really know about the Iranian nuclear program’??? Utter BS.
Now that is something one should really be afraid of. But the Bills of the world don't give a damn about what's happening here, as long as we are killing Iranians, Iraqis, Syrians, and all the others we are currently militarily engaged with.
@Ben NY was already well on its way to complete destruction from good ol' capitalists. Maybe they elected Mamdani to take the fall and be the scapegoat? He is likely to rule from the center and not do much to shake things up, as all the "socialist" campaigners and politicians who "talk a good game" on the campaign trail (see Obama, Bernie Sanders, etc.).
"what part of, “death to America” don’t you understand?" Why are you so afraid of words and empty threats? There used to be a phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones..." I suggest developing a thicker skin, and becoming less paranoid lol
You sound like Senator Lindsey Graham, if he was honest for one moment of his life. He has made it clear that he is Israel first, and has openly said that he told his constituents to send their sons and daughters to go fight in the Middle East. He's a catcher, not a pitcher, BTW. Did you see those pictures of him at Disney Land, by himself with some kind of bubble blower in his hand, a few weeks ago?
I go back and forth on that one , the alternate explanation being that like it as not those five nations the neocons circa Bush ll had on their play list have all come to pass and the middle east is actually starting to take on a different appearance than it did back when Baby Bush said this here war on terror was going to take a long ass time . remember all that ? I do . Not chearleading it , just pointing out the facts , Iraq , Syria , Libya , Lebanon , Iran . See the underlying continuity of the long term geo strategic plan for the middle east continuing on apace while most peoples short attention spans are fixated on the latest laser pointer cat distraction ?
WTF is Israel doing in Lebanon in the first place? Ethnically cleansing it in order to expand its borders and take land by force. This is why Hezbollah does what it does. No other reason. It's not because of Islamic fanaticism, it's because of Zionist fanaticism.
Israel has been getting away with this for so many decades thanks to relentless, unblinking support from the USA. Being defeated by Iran has now, at long last, curbed that support. Trump sees his options are either to give Iran what it's asking for or they will destroy the world economy. They have the means and demonstrated capability to do just that, by flattening what's left of the Gulf oil infrastructure. And the USA lacks the ability to stop them, or it would have done so by now.
Maybe Israel has a responsibility to realize that it is the maniac in the room, and needs to come to its senses at long fucking last.
Regardless, I think Trump has decided to cut and run.
Bibi is about to learn the same lesson that countless former allies, employees, cabinet members, attorneys, and supporters have already learned: with Trump, loyalty is a one-way street.
He's not loyal to Israel. He's not loyal to the United States. He's loyal to himself.
Calling that TDS doesn't make it false. It just avoids dealing with the evidence.
This statement ignores forty years of proxy wars directly against the US and US interests, while the US mostly ignored Iran and what it was doing in the region.
We're a long way from home when we're in and around their home. So they fight back, sometimes effectively. That sometimes has increased to often. If they destroyed our bases, they can destroy our ships at any time.
I also don't understand why Jim characterizes the Iranians as insane and "maniacs" every week. Israel wants to destroy their culture and they want to preserve it. What's irrational about that?
Because he is either part of or victim of decades of western media propaganda.
Is Iran a showcase of liberalism? No. Neither is Israel or the Gulf States in general. Iran under the Mullahs is far less repressive than under the Shah whose secret police carried out more murders and tortures in a year than the Mullahs in ten.
The fact of the matter is despite years of sanctions, overt as well as covert western attempts to create regime change in Iran, this “oppressive, horrible regime” has resulted in a nation where doctoral candidates outnumber those in the US by a five to one margin. Where female STEM graduates outnumber the US by 39% to 12%. Where their literacy rate is ten points higher than ours and women are at 98% literacy rate compared to 40% under the Shah.
The 10,000 or so Jews living in Iran by choice are free to worship in their synagogues and protected by fatwa. Is it a picnic for them? No. But if they wanted to “kill all the Jews” they have a funny way of doing it. In reality Israel has killed off far more Palestinians by a large measure. So who’s the crazed regime?
Each of us has an inherent level of bias. What distinguishes one perspective from the next is the degree of pure objectivity applied equally at every level of analysis.
If one is unable to find fault with an individual or entity they trust or have trusted at other levels, that may indicate selective bias without objective cause.
To the best of one's ability in the quest to ascertain it, the nearest understanding reflecting objective truth should be the sole arbiter in framing one's views.
My grandfather was from Ireland. In his mind, no Irish person could ever do wrong. It wasn't worth arguing with him. He couldn't be rational on matters relating to Ireland.
BOOGA BOOGA! The old worn-out antisemite accusation has lost its power from decades of abuse. The great majority of hatred directed at Israel has been caused by Zionists, like you. Go ahead: call me one. ZZZzzz...
Quite candidly, I've quit giving a shit about what happens in or to Ukraine, Russia, and much of the rest of Europe at this point. Half of Europe is becoming more Islamic-dominated rathole than civilized Western civilization. How native Europeans think that will turn out OK is a mystery to me, in part because the Islamists overrunning Europe, unlike many of their Islamic counterparts in the Mideast, don't have the oil to sell to keep their regimes financed once they take politically take over European countries. Europe ain't gonna look like a forested version of Qatar; it's gonna look like Yemen with forests and grass, until the forests get cut down for firewood.
As for Ukraine, it's been trying for years now to mix a corn-pone version of Fascist/Socialism to run its country, with a ton of WEF and U.S. leftist/neo-con funding propping it up. It's gone from being the breadbasket of Europe to being the basket case of Europe. Ukraine's claim to fame is bombing Russia and killing Russians--Russia being the major oil and natural gas supplier to much of Europe. Were it not for the U.S. being nice guys and sending oil to Europe during the Iran dustup, Europe would be heading for 1700 A.D. by now--it may still get there.
Meanwhile, Russia is now, thanks in large part to the war in Ukraine, a very dangerous country. How so? Well, the war in Ukraine has made it painfully obvious that the Russian military's much bragged upon conventional capability really is not very capable. No one should take much solace in that because such European gloating about it ignores the fact that Russia holds a massive stockpile of tactical and strategic nuclear warheads that it can deliver to anywhere that it chooses to. And it may choose to if it runs out of alternatives in Ukraine. And what would the U.S. do about that? Well, many Americans might just say, "Do nothing"--after all, most of Europe hasn't done jack-shit for the U.S. in years, and certainly hasn't in the Iran affair. Which proves, once again, what morons the Socialist wusses running "free" Europe are--they are the ones who would benefit most from helping the U.S. end the radical Islamist threat from Iran. But, did they help? Not really.
President Trump has been doing his best (best of any President in the last 47 years) to bring some stability to the Mideast. I hope that he is successful. But, his main thrust now needs to be to end the de facto Socialist revolution occurring in America, exit NATO and the UN, concentrate on securing the Western Hemisphere from Chinese Communist influence, reduce our dependence on the Communist Chinese junk flooding into the U.S., and to put the American peoples' interests first. That will be a challenge--many will try to stop him, by any means possible. A recent poll reflects the hatred that the "New Left" has for America. Only 29% of Democrats polled say they love America. My conclusion from that poll, if the poll is accurate, is that over 7 out of 10 Democrats are nothing but America-hating piles of shit.
You do realize Russia has only used reservists in the fight with Ukraine.
Not a fan of Russia, but I also have no skin in the game against them either.
The far right appears to have a deep-seated hatred of America as well.
While we are at it, nuke delivery systems and nukes themselves require extensive maintenance. I suspect they have not kept up with any of it, as the very tires of their convoys rotted off, leaving them stranded.
Russia seems to be the essence of a paper tiger, great at defense, using nature as a defensive measure, but on the offense, they fall apart over and over.
Bingo, Ben. The military industrial complex just wants to make money and hates nationalists. MAGA is very different from America First. Come out from among them, Ben.
This ‘situation report’ sums things up comprehensively and well. Western Europeans are dying out — fallow and barren comes at a price. Priority for Western Hemispheric interests is the strategic imperative. The anti-American global-progressive-leftists are intent upon remaking the world, see Jacobins, Fabians, Bolsheviks, Red Guards, Antifa — if we let them. Those with low throw-weight (and testosterone) need to take a seat. The world belongs to the vibrant.
Whenever I see one of those "Coexist" bumper stickers, the song from Mr. Rogers, with a slight rewrite, comes to mind: "One of these things isn't like the others, one of these things just can't get along..." Islam in a nutshell.
Gonzo Don -- You obviously don't understand what that fund consists of and how it is designed to be used. We're not just handing over that money, and it's disingenuous for you to imply as much.
Except the USA has spent the last 47 years doing everything in its power to halt, prevent and undo Iran's development, whereas it's now going to facilitate it. All while ceding it (with Oman) control over the Strait of Hormuz. Instead of free and clear passage, which served U.S. interests, Iran will be able to collect "service fees".
Iran has already demonstrated effective mastery over the Gulf region. Just think what they'll be able to do with this kind of financing.
Do you not remember the Marshall plan and the US rebuilding Europe and Japan?
Do you not remember the fiasco after WW1, punishing Germany creating Hitler?
It is the entire Sunni group that will administer the $300 billion, and I really doubt if much missile or nuke buying will happen.
The best way to conquer an enemy is to make them a friend.
Iran will not run open loop with a single dollar, 60 days from now if things do not progress, he we go again.
BTW, whatever happened to all the disaster effects of 300 dollar oil and 10 dollar gasoline go? The same place as all the other bullshit promulgated by the MSM and their trolls on this blog.
Of course I remember the plan as well as the fiasco. There is a body of opinion saying that Macron deliberately trolled Trump by offering to hold the signing at Versailles, precisely because of the analogy to the ending of WWI.
As for the Marshall plan, the difference here is the USA actually did enact regime change in Germany, before financing its reconstruction. In Iran, Trump tried and failed to change the regime, before capitulating and acceding to Iran's demands. It's as if the USA had been the aggressor against Nazi Germany, only to be fought to a standstill and create the Marshall Plan to enable the Nazis to rebuild. (Except even the mullahs are nowhere near as evil as the Nazis were, but that's the limits of historical analogy for you.)
But there is no analogy in either WWI or WWII to the USA's decades-long backing of its bloodthirsty client ethnostate in the Middle East, or of the sudden reversal in Israel's fortunes. All because Iran has successfully defied the USA for five decades now, and the USA now understands that pushing Iran any farther will lead to Iran shooting the world's oil economy, and thus the U.S. economy, in the head.
The "disaster effects" haven't happened... *yet*, and that's for one reason: China, like the USA, has stockpiles and sharply reduced its oil imports, from 10.6 million barrels/day last year to 6.8 million barrels last month.
That's around a 40 percent decrease. Don't kid yourself, they did Trump and the entire world a huge favour by limiting demand. Trump still needs to make the deal stick, or the disaster effects are still very, very much on the menu.
Daddy, Daddy, JHK! There are people posting here who don’t necessarily agree with you! Or, worse yet, they are saying things that are openly CRITICAL of Dear Leader and some of the decisions he makes!
This is intolerable and unAmerican. Please shut all dissenting voices down, like like they do in other countries led by authoritarians.
I shout “TDS!” loudly every time I encounter one of these heretics, but it’s not enough! We need you to make them go away so I never have my cult-like worship of Dear Leader questioned!
Hater Spite aimed at a person or cause no matter what the real story is. They are typically products of the MSM propaganda. No matter what contrary info they see, makes no difference. Their targets get speared and negative comments abound no matter what. Known for name calling when they do not have counter arguments. TDS is just one form. JHK does not censor dissension, he censors jerks.
Yeah, the cope, cope, cope copecope... We're here to read the cope, cope, cope copecope. (h/t Meryn Cadell)
Kunstler clearly still has a rager on to bomb, punish, destroy Iran if that can possibly be managed somehow. The problem is, the war failed and it failed definitively within the first few days. If the 'Atlas of Iran's Missile Cities' were all that important, it would have enabled the USA to take those sites out sometime between March and now. Either they can't, or if they made the attempt then Iran would nonetheless have time enough to finish the process of destroying the remaining oil infrastructure within its reach and plunge the global economy into a Trump Depression.
Clearly, Trump's generals were able to make him understand this, which is why Trump has made the only move possible which is to accede to Iran's demands and tell Israel to pound sand.
The Iranians are masters of defensive war. They are too deeply dug in. Our bombs destroy the portals, but underneath all is fine. So they dig out and hit us back just as hard.
I love the weasel-word 'potential'. The not 'potential' but actual answer is, whether they survive or not, they have enough capacity left to destroy all the remaining oil infrastructure in the Gulf, and they can get the job done before the USA is able to stop them. They have a knife to the jugular vein of the global oil economy, and the USA isn't quick enough on the draw to rescue it.
No matter his big talk, the USA can't escape the effects of a global depression, and Trump knows it. That's their weapon. Iran has no interest in hitting the USA for its own sake: what they want is to survive, and to get the USA and Israel's boot off their neck. And now, they have the Paul Atreides solution: whoever can destroy a thing, has the control of that thing. Frank Herbert was a prophet.
Exactly right, why do you think they wanted the nukes except control over the Gulf and its multi-country oil infrastructure? Same thing Saddam Hussein wanted for Iraq and the US went after him in 1991 and then W tried to fix. You are aware that we are obligated by 1943 treaty to protect Saudi Arabia from its neighbors in exchange for full access to SA oil. FDR and Ibn-Saud. Look at even today, no nukes and open Straits are the main goals, protect the oil.
It seems like fantasy to believe that any "deal" with the Islamic regime will overcome centuries of "belief" and practice. They just bide their time. It is a belief system that is completely, totally and irrevocably incompatible with any other belief system. Plan accordingly.
This is one of those statements that tells you a lot more about the speaker than about the topic. Yes, Iran is run by mullahs. But they have acted exceedingly rationally in their own interest, and in the interest of overcoming US/Israeli aggression against them and returning to the community of nations.
It took a long time, but the test came on February 28th and they passed with flying colours. Iran has achieved an overwhelming success and looks like being the new regional hegemon around the Persian Gulf. Rational actors acting rationally. It's Israel that has behaved like a Bronze Age tribe, making war on all its neighbours relentlessly, taking their land, killing and ethnically cleansing their populations. You should learn to recognize who is a rational actor and who is not.
The Iranians have shown themselves to be far more disciplined, strategically savvy, and diplomatically capable of crafting an agreement than Israel or the US. They have been the only grownups in the room and the only civilized participant. Our host is too bigoted against Muslims to accept or admit that, and his dittoheads have no mind of their own or clue about legitimate sources of information.
And a poor case it is. Rational behaviour is rational behaviour. I don't call it something it isn't because of a difference of values.
Sure, Iran oppresses girls, women, gays. Saudi Arabia does the same -- gay sex is a capital offence. And they're a valued ally. Meanwhile, Israel has received unstinting American support for decades, and they drop Palestinians off roofs:
The fact of the matter is despite years of sanctions, overt as well as covert western attempts to create regime change in Iran, this “oppressive, horrible regime” has resulted in a nation where doctoral candidates outnumber those in the US by a five to one margin. Where female STEM graduates outnumber the US by 39% to 12%. Where their literacy rate is ten points higher than ours and women are at 98% literacy rate compared to 40% under the Shah.
Plenty of drama moving forward... not new, but at least it'll keep the hyperbole stoked.
One angle I haven't seen mentioned has to do with Trump's petulant side. He's quite famous for making it hurt for people that cross him. With that, I see, at least in the background, this MOU complete with all the "they can have missiles" rhetoric as a poke at the GCC for wanting no resolution... just commerce. Taken from a Saudi perspective [forget the Israeli gambit for now] and see what they see: A funded, armed, arrogant Iran with control of the strait. I can almost see Trump in a sidebar with their king saying, "OK. You wanted it bad....you got it bad. Let me know when you grow some stones."
Jim touched on it here: "Get an Islamic Middle Eastern country to help clean up that mess..." Yup.
Sunni Gulf nations = NATO as both just want Uncle Sam to take care of them.
How many NATO, EU, WEF, OPEC conferences have been conducted to find out new ways to sucker the US. How much of the contention between the US and Russia has been put in place by Europe?
Who exactly is the US biggest foreign enemy?
Then, we need to acknowledge that our biggest enemy is domestic, the Democratic Socialist movement and its ability to dupe ignorant folks.
Lavrov chastised them in much the same manner. Arrant playboys and greed heads who wouldn't lift a finger to help their brothers in Palestine. The Shia were willing to help even though Palestine is mostly Sunni. But their own co-religionists didn't give a god damn.
This whole fiasco is about using US forces to defend Israel from Iran. Iran is no threat to the US, only to Israel.
Israel should not be America's problem. It's a distant foreign country which has repeatedly proven it has no respect for America, bombing the Liberty, selling Pollard's stolen secrets to the USSR, and manipulating Congress via AIPAC.
One of the best and most concise reports as always.
The thing that has just smacked me upside my head is that the EU with its Globalist, Atlanticist, Neocon machinations and this insane desire to go to war with Russia, one must conclude The EU IS A DEATH CULT!
That, and the EU is resource-poor. For that reason, they, perhaps even more than our own neocons in the Rand Corporation and the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), just can't stand it that Russia EXISTS, sitting as it does on top of all that oil, gas, gold, uranium, timber, minerals, etc. They feel that by rights all those goodies should be THEIRS, and they just will not give up their determination to get their grubby hands on it all. Therefore, Russia, that great, 1,000+year-old nation, must be made to cease to exist.
The Middle East is the home to three major religions including dozens of offshoots, a mixed bag of royalty, impostors, crypto-whatevers, carpetbaggers, looters (think oil) and migrants. It is the home of ancient civilizations and crazy politics with 5,000 years of struggle and unrest.
It is the world's most sticky political tarbaby. Many of the MAGA faithful were proclaiming it'd all be over within a week when Operation Epic Fury was launched at the end of February. It's been epic all right, and so far has showcased the limit of high-tech warfare and is testing the limit the limit of how little hot air and agreement incapable parties have in moving forward towards peace.
The epic part may be moving in a different direction now, and could more easily become the catalyst/scapegoat for a broader conflict. In times of Decline, which gets little to no recognition from the MAGA faithful, this is how things roll. The pie of wealth is shrinking, and many paths lead to violence as human nature drives all parties to cling to their standards of living. Good luck to us all - we'll need it.
The trolls are out in force this morning, naturally.
Had a friend in Florida turn me into your writings. I very much enjoy your points of view. Thanks!
It's no fun without them.
Share your sentiment. They bounce from Jew-hatred to Trump-hatred to America-hatred like caffeinated chihuahuas albeit with smaller brains and testicles and more yappiness. I've been quite enjoying the leftie pivot to the reflecting pool in the days before the Iran agreement. While sane DC residents were enjoing the weather, the now-beautiful and clean parks and World Cup visitors are extolling Buccees, brisket and American friendliness, the left turned into an all-algae-all-the-time complaint fest. "Nooooo....nooooo....the algaeeeee-eeeeeee!" Cheered me right up.
Please share with me again the rightie-right’s apoplectic rage over President Barack Obama once wearing a tan suit. Because I can never hear that story too many times.
You knew he was going to be a great president because of the razor sharp crease in his pants.
Wasn’t Trump the one that began bitching about the algae? lol
That was before he spent $14 million of our tax dollars to not solve the algae problem.
This is the guy that won a $14 million no bid contract to fix the pool
Unbelievable
At the price of copper, the copper sulfate needed to resolve this problem, would have been expensive, but $14 mil. is steep.
Yep. When I read some of the comments on your site, (I can only stomach a handful each time), many of the comments strike me as being troll-on-troll, perhaps even a bunch of paid political hacks, or even dare-I-say, good ole USA gov agents of sorts playing silly games...
So you don’t believe Trump shits his pants and raped children with his bestie?
Your P-resident literally did that. Project much?
What other P-resident do you know of who raped children with his best friend?
Nixon?
🫵🤡
‘Your P-resident literally did that’
Trump isn’t my P-resident beta boy.
I don’t worship pants shitting child rapists.
You do.
Gaslight much?
Pathetic.
Everything Trump touches turns to shit.
You are complicit
It is literally all they have.
All they have?
A rapist grifter felon pussy pants shitting loser?
It’s trolling to point out what a pants shitting loser Donnie is?
Did you hear him shit his pants during his talk?
I heard him say he's the boss and he turned his back on that scumbag Starmer. He's upsetting the right people, so he's good with me. China is obviously backing him they cut back their oil purchases by 5mbpd. And Putin handed him the soccer ball remember. The media going ape about the MOU is glorious. Soon we'll be learning what Obama's JPCOA was really all about as he lamely whines that it's been copied.
If he betrays Netanyahu, I'll forgive him for his betrayal of the American people. Putin played nice with the Oligarchs (all but one Jewish) and then betrayed them. Why? Because they were sucking Russia dry.
Why would he ‘betray’ Bibi?
Bibi slept in Jerad Kushner bed when Kushner was a boy. His parents would make him sleep in the basement lol
Trump is Putin’s bitch, but Putin is now Ukraine’s bitch.
Did you see Ukraine hammer Moscow?
Putin is going to get taken out from within.
Everything Donnie touches turns to shit.
TDS alert.
"TDS!"
Whiskey shot!!
Excellent response.
Great example of a real loser troll accusing others of being what he/she is.
I'm think Mr. Matt's first name is "Door".
Good grief, it's the insane progressives' latest hits on repeat.
Matt appears to be another case of psychiatric danger. He typifies the unstable liberal who can’t keep things together, and inevitably resorts to violence. Beware.
I think you just got your nuts chopped off by The Boss
Good grief, can you people stop surrendering to Iran?
I’m starting to think America is full of cowardly pants shitters lol
China may have cut the oil purchases for their own reasons. What they did was ban the export of refined oil (gas, kerosene etc.). China has a big share of the world's refining capacity so this accomplished three things:
1. Caused Chinese refineries to stop ordering any more oil than was required for the domestic market
2. Held down the global price of oil, and the price of refined products in China (i.e. kept the price of gas for Chinese motorists affordable).
3. Caused shortages and price spikes for gas (but not crude) primarily in countries which import refined products from China.
It is possible that this was explicit cooperation between China and US - but also may not have been as it was in China's (the government at least, although not the refining companies) own interest in any case.
So Isreal AND China own Trump?
So much for America first and no new ME endless wars 🙄
Not sure Israel or China or both own Trump. The Rothschild mafia seems to "own" Trump if anyone does. They surely own Israel too - not sure about China.
The point is Trump is a foreign agent.
He is compromised.
The Epstein Regime is destroying the world.
So you didn’t hear him shit his pants?
Yep he’s Putin’s bitch for sure lol
I just think it’s hilarious how badly he shit the bed with Iran.
The biggest foreign policy blunder in American history.
What a deplorable pants shitting rapist.
Hey at least he fixed the reflecting pool and built himself a $1 billion golden ballroom.
What a bootlicker lol
So destroying Iran's Navy , Air Force , nuclear program , decapitating their leadership three layers down , destroying their economy and their military industrial capacity all while boxing in our main geo political adversary 'CH-II-NA ' in a manner of months while sustaining unprecedented minimal loss of US personnel is the biggest US foreign policy blunder in history eh ?Lol , what's hilarious is your misplaced sense of your own ability to sway peoples opinions away from reality in service to both your unmitigated TDS and your love of all things Demon---- ( Oh sorry James , I promised I wouldn't ) er I mean Democrat stealth self immolation of America party of deranged psychotic commie parasite LOSERS such as yourself !!!!!!! Now go take your sad pathetic attempts at " neuro linguistic programming ( you really must try the clams linguini , its absolutely to die for )and stick it where the sun don't shine Mkay " Matt" ? Nobody is swayed by your politically motivated malarkey . You think far too highly of your powers of persuasion( in the service of your psychotic and demonically possessed agenda . GFY .
I don't think we have destroyed Iran's military capability, nor have we boxed in China. China seems to be a big winner from all this so far to me - but it's always hard to know as an outsider what is really going on.
And FWIW it doesn't seem right to describe anyone who opposes Trump as a Democrat. As far as I can see Trump is a big government Democrat himself (the kind we used to have before the green/woke gang came along). I'm a conservative for example - but I oppose Trump because
- his geopoltical actions appear to be benefiting Israel at the expense of America
- his domestic policies seem to be economically ruinous (more spending, more taxation, more inflation)
- he seems to be immensely corrupt - at least on a par with the Clintons and Obama measured in $, and far more than Biden (who made headlines but seems to have been as useless at turning power into money as he was everything else).
China is definitely the ’winner’ of this illegal war crime we have committed.
Trump has been corrupt all his life.
Trump has been a failure all his life.
Trump has been compromised by Putin since the ‘80’s Krasnov
These aren’t political differences, this is an internal dismantling of our government by corrupt child raping oligarchs.
Elon himself said that if Kamala won he was going to jail lol
So why are we surrendering?
Remember how much you cried and cried about Obama giving them $1.8 billion?
🫵🤡
“TDS!”
Whiskey shot!
Surrender shot!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Pedo shot!
America crumbles!
Yep.
Don’t forget destroying hospitals, schools, children, desalination plants, and right in the middle of negotiations!
Yep.
Trump made the biggest foreign policy mistake in US history lol
168 schoolgirls slaughtered by the best warfighters in the world.
Bootlicker
Good grief, no one, especially the Iranians, could care less about girls placed in harm's way for political reasons.
Iran considers them martyrs for the cause.
Child Soldiers in Iran
An anonymous former Iranian soldier shared with an Iranwire reporter the profound impact the Iraq-Iran War had on his life. At just 14 years old, he was sent to the frontlines, robbed of the joys of adolescence, such as going to school and experiencing love. This practice of using child soldiers in Iran commenced during the Iraq-Iran War in 1980 and has persisted, with reports of its employment as recently as 2022. Notably, Iranian government officials specifically target children from impoverished families, enticing them with promises of financial rewards and martyrdom.
Martyrdom
After the 680 CE Battle of Karbala, the glorification of martyrs within the Shiite religion (the official religion of Iran) started. The Sunni Caliph Yazid killed Hussain ibn Ali, the third Shiite Imam and grandson of Muhammad, along with his fellow fighters (including children) during this battle. Due to the praise that martyrs receive, the Iranian government commonly recruits child soldiers by promising them martyrdom.
In 1979, Iranian ayatollahs (Shiite religious leaders) introduced child martyrdom into school curricula throughout Iran. They promised children as young as 9 years old that dying as martyrs against the Iraqi enemy would lead them straight to heaven. This teaching continues to be part of the curriculum, as a 2021-22 interim update report on Iran’s radical education revealed that authorities teach students to seek suicide or death in battle even when not required.
Common Duties for Child Soldiers in Iran
Clearing minefields is one of the common duties assigned to child soldiers in Iran. Former New York Times foreign correspondent, Terrence Smith, brought attention to the mine-clearing process that young boys were involved in during the Iraq-Iran war. Many boys between the ages of 12 and 17 would wear red headbands with inscriptions like “Sar Allah” or “Warrior of God” and carry small metal keys around their necks, symbolizing their “keys to heaven” as they prepared for battle.
Military authorities took measures to prevent desertion by binding the child soldiers with ropes. Despite facing withering machine gun fire, these brave children fearlessly hurled themselves on barbed wire or marched into Iraqi minefields to clear the way for Iranian tanks. Their courage and sacrifice in performing such dangerous tasks highlight the unfortunate reality of child soldiers in Iran.
Iran’s authorities exploit child soldiers as propaganda tools, showcasing them in pro-regime media with placards that glorify Iran’s involvement in various wars. Additionally, there are repeated mentions of children in speeches at parades commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Sadly, this practice of involving children in warfare only exacerbates the poverty Iran confronts.
Connection to Poverty
Approximately 60% of Iranians are grappling with poverty and among them, 20 to 30 million are living in absolute poverty. The use of child soldiers in Iran contributes to this distressing cycle. In their quest to join the war efforts, many child soldiers fall for incentives that particularly appeal to impoverished families.
In 2022, the Iranian government employed young boys to suppress anti-government street protests. Disturbing images of children and young men donning military uniforms and holding batons circulated on social media. Reports from more than 500 supporters of the Imam Ali Society, a local charity in Iran, indicated that authorities recruit these children from impoverished families, offering them a meager exchange of “a few bags of food.”
Moreover, poor families exploit their children’s “martyr status” for benefits. They receive monetary compensation per child involved in conflicts and a martyr card granting them access to food and other privileges. This exploitation of children as both tools of suppression and sources of financial gain further exacerbates the challenges of poverty faced by many Iranian families.
Solutions
The use of children as soldiers has long been a concern of the United Nations (U.N), but there are currently no reported Iran-specific initiatives to prevent this troubling practice. A governmental pattern of recruiting child soldiers persisted as recently as March 2022.
However, UNICEF has been diligently working to support children in Iran for nearly seven decades. Its efforts include providing essential services such as health care, immunization, proper nutrition, access to education and protection. Additionally, UNICEF maintains regular communication with Iranian authorities to safeguard children’s rights.
Globally, UNICEF has taken action to end the use of children as soldiers through its impactful 2014 Children, Not Soldiers campaign. This initiative, in collaboration with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, aimed to garner international support to halt the recruitment of children in conflicts. The campaign focused on countries like Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. Member states, the U.N., NGO partners, regional partners and the general public promptly rallied behind this vital cause, culminating in the campaign’s success in 2016.
Regrettably, Iran persists in using children as tools of war. But sustaining awareness about this critical issue and receiving support from organizations like UNICEF could play a pivotal role in ultimately ending the use of child soldiers in Iran, once and for all.
Was his mistake really bigger than Lincoln's, or Wilson's, or FDR's, or ....
I liked your comment for all the pushback on Matt but I have yet to understand the necessity of war on Iran and only some serious actions in the next few weeks to follow up on the phase shift in what Trump and Vance will potentially bring back and put to the polls the majority of MAGA voters. That is, the Disaffected, who think he’s gone uniparty and no matter who we vote for we get Bibi
Trump and JD are Bibi’s bitches.
I like how you know that the Iran war is a pathetic blunder that is destroying the world economy, but you still love the bootlickers for pushing back…
Maybe go listen to Trump's G7 speech outing Barry for trying to supply Iran w Nukes so they could destroy Israel, LC.
165 schoolgirls slaughtered.
War crime.
Looked at another way - unlike so many of his predecessors he does at least seem to have got out of the war fairly quickly. Assuming that he really has got out of the war that is - and this is not just a market headfake to make some stock moves before we start up the war again.
The ‘war’?
It’s not a war, it’s an illegal war crime.
Trump has said we’ve won how many times since he slaughtered 165 schoolchildren? 30 times? 40?
And conveniently the newest US surrender was on a Sunday.
And the strait is still closed.
Trump will go down as the single biggest loser in modern history.
Mind if I tell you to “bug off loser” from up here in Alaska? It’s much kinder than tieing you to a tree and dousing you in bacon grease then leaving you to explain your miserable self to the bears😜
Do you mind if I remind you that you’re worshipping a pedo rapist pants shitting retard grifter?
Ok cool lol
Why are you bringing Joe Biden into this?
Why is that description, or at least parts of it, seemingly applicable to so many recent presidents from both parties?
Your pants shitter is so awesome he shit the entire world lol
Joe Biden?
Is he still president?
Pathetic bootlicker
🤡
He never was, but PATHETIC people like you loved him.
O? So you hate Biden too? Lmao
Biden might have shit his pants.
Doesn’t bother me I never worshiped him lol
Your parents must look at your posts and realize they failed.
You forgot the algae.
Can’t Trump just cover the algae pool mess with a tarp so no one sees it?
And the $1 billion crater and the $70 million claw surrounding the White House lol
Both of which have been needed for decades.
We’ve needed $14 million algae for decades lol
Did you see the guy who owns the ‘pool’ company lol
Everything you people touch turns to shit lol
TDS alert lol
Clearly the algae and the peeling blue paint, following the award of the $14 million non-compete Reflecting Pool contract to Trump's favorite pool company, is all George Soros' fault. Just ask JHK.
We’ve needed a claw for decades? lol
TDS alert lol
It is trolling to do so forty times.
Showing you to be of very low IQ.
The grade school troll.
He literally just shit his pants on live tv.
I guess you didn’t ‘see’ it.
Please keep up!
You seem very preoccupied with his flatulence.
Is this some weird kink?
No, don't answer that you be as weird as you want, but please keep some of your obsessions to yourself.
Flatulence?
Do you know the difference between Flatulence and letting a giant load go in your depends?
Wow, what a retard.
Do keep exposing yourself as a complete and utter mendacious window-licking low-IQ troll.
You think Michelle Obama has a cock lol
Talk about a weird kink lol
Of course, it’s also kind of a weird kink that you constantly go to bat for a pants shitting child rapist.
Your people’s strange perversity caused the biggest energy crisis in world history.
I’m glad you think shitting your pants everyday is kinky.
Creepy pervert beta
Bath house Barry, by some accounts, likes them old and white, and according to Larry Sinclair, also likes it hard in the rump roast, same as you, it would appear.
The beta part applies very much to the angry little troll named Matt what a screwfly.
If you don’t listen for forty times. Then I need to tell you 41 times.
Trump is a pants shitting child rapist who surrendered to Iran.
You are complicit.
People stopped reading the incessant slop after several repeated posts.
Look at you bootlicking for a child raping loser.
Did he grab your pussy?
Or are you in the Epstein files too?
Gross
They have a term for what you continue to expose as a form of mental illness, where you put your obsessions on other people.
No— were you there sniffing on your knees? 🤡🤡🤡🤨
Do you regularly feast on what Donnie leaves in his depends?
You're a really gross human.The disgusting way you speak? SHAME on you....
Did Trump just grab your pussy?
He sure grabbed yours and lost his fist up to the elbow.
So Trump did or didn’t grab your pussy?
Did you know Dumb had a b at the end?
The London banksters are obviously the group that keeps funding Ukraine and Hezbollah, as you alluded to. What can be done about them? Or is it just a waiting game as they appear rather suicidal, given the sorry state of the UK these days. They are not our allies and likely never have been
London has been trying to destroy the US from day one.
After Iran we should start taking apart their empire of dirt, starting with Canada and ending in London.
We have been. Trump’s reorganization of the world’s power started his first term. Continues full steam. The reorganization starts with London. The UK is in its death throes. They have no money for the military. They have no willpower for the fight that must be done inside their own borders.
Ah, but they have London bankers and MI6. Hold on the obituaries.
I have read/heard that Starmer is as dirty as it gets and the White Hats are blackmailing him into playing the role of useful idiot. Trump et al are going after the lower hanging corrupt fruit. I am not sure how much of what we see is theater or misdirection. I believe Venezuela was taken out of the equation well before we heard about that operation. This is so complex and convoluted it makes my head hurt.
The alliances and loyalties are complex and long-standing, so yeah, unraveling BS is a lengthy process. I figure at least 2 more administrations to get this done, providing MAGA stays strong and remains the voting influence it now has.
Only following up with action, the phase shift in what Trump and Vance have been saying for the last week will there be MAGA enough to keep Trump from impeachment
Those approval levels in the tank reflect the Boomers who watch Fox are the ones still buying
Leaving the majority of us let’s say not very motivated to get out and vote
The meme goes no matter who we vote for we get Bibi, it has a very Uniparty look
It's a good thing we still have freedom of speech...at least we know who the useful idiots are.
And the 2ndA.
They all know about the mass rape of British girls. They're all in on it. It's policy as per the Kalergi Plan.
It has nothing to do with a plan it is simply how bizarre their culture is.
which is why all crimes are punished with chopping body parts off, flogging, or stoning to death.
All they respect is violence.
But a Plan would explain it best, and voila, there is a Plan as you would see if you cared to look. And the usuals are involved up to their eye brows.
Only following up with action, the phase shift in what Trump and Vance have been saying for the last week will there be MAGA enough to keep Trump from impeachment
Those approval levels in the tank reflect the Boomers who watch Fox are the ones still buying
Leaving the majority of us let’s say not very motivated to get out and vote
The meme goes no matter who we vote for we get Bibi, it has a very Uniparty look
You say that like its a good thing .
Is Alberta the first step?
After all, every other thing is about oil.
Minerals aka mined stuff is also huge.
Trump gets it; the Marxist Democrats don't.
Trump shit his pants, and then he shit the world economy.
Who would have guessed that a guy who had 6 bankruptcies would bankrupt the entire planet.
And you’re still chowing down on his shit filled depends.
Pathetic
"...and ending in London."
Oh, Lord no!
We can take England away from the Eastern Invaders, but let's just build a wall around London and not let anyone in or out.
I thought that's what we were doing with NYC. (Movie, Escape from New York, is often brought to mind.) Well, 2 cesspools would be barely adequate for the number of idiots we need to dump in them.
Sounds like a recipe for WW3.
And Mike Pompeo’s first meeting in his role as CIA director was to meet with his counterparts at MI6. Traitor! London has been the source of constant terror funding and the destruction of American markets for decades. And Trump’s whole point of everything he does is to take them out of the picture and restore American economic greatness.
Most Americans have zero clue about the British; they have managed to get the focus on one tiny country and off themselves.
Most bootlickers think all the badass Italians have already illegally immigrated, so Trump can turn another one of our allies against us.
Hey, at least Putin is still his friend lol
Yep, the Hamilton system which is probably the real reason he got shot.
They want their 13 colonies back as well as the rest of the Commonwealth back. Never got over the butthurt of their fore fathers when they lost it all.
💯🎯
isn't the U.S. also funding to the tune of $40million per week. From what Ive read, we can't get that spigot turned off by Congress. please correct me if i'm wrong on this, which i hope i am.
Great rat behavior analogy!😂😂😂 I’m hoping Trump is using this time to compile intelligence on the new IRGC leadership - who they are and where they live, so that when the inevitable misbehavior comes he can push a button or two and eliminate this new leadership (and perhaps their entire families) along with the various military/infrastructure targets. While this may simply become the lawnmower approach, periodically trimming back the radical Islamists, it would be reasonably effective, at least until another spineless Democrat occupied the White House. Thanks for a great post, JHK👍👍
Well if you prescribe to a biblical world view at all its common knowledge that evil can never really be completely eliminated on this here mortal coil ,by us here mortals anyway , and so your lawnmower analogy dovetails nicely into that .
Whether or not I agree with you JHK, and this time I mostly agree with you, I always appreciate your concise style and clear writing. English composition teachers should require that their students read your columns as examples or good writing
The US war with Iran is playing out very badly. . . just like the recent US wars with Iraq and Afghanistan did. The US has gone to war in the Middle East four times since 1991, and none of the wars worked out well for it. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different result. It just seems like the US is in a never-ending cycle of war in that region, "depleting" our military assets, therefore "requiring" that we fire up the armaments factories and churn out replacements. . .the military-industrial complex thrives on these pointless, endless wars. It's a shame. Our road/bridges/tunnels/infrastructure are all awful, and we can never seem to find the money to repair them, or stop going bankrupt generally speaking, but somehow we have untold billions for pointless, endless wars. Trump is accelerating the decline right now.
It's not insanity, TM. They know what they are doing and they know why they are doing it. They cannot justify a $ 1 trillion dollar defense spending budget if there is no war to fight. The military / industrial complex is one of the deep state puppet masters pulling the strings from the dark closets of the Pentagon. These wars have nothing to do with spreading America's chosen brand of "democracy." These wars are all about taking taxpayer dollars from us and from millions and millions of future Americans and funneling that money into the pockets of the CEOs of the Raytheons, Lockheeds, Boeings, Northrup-Grummonds and many others and keeping them awash with unimaginable amounts of cash.
War has become a financial commodity, just like our health care and our homes. Think of the economy having a war generates.
If these wars were about spreading freedom and stopping a tyrant the US would have been successful in each engagement. However, the fact that the US has lost every illegal war it has inserted itself in since World War 2 tells you that it isn't about winning the war and spreading freedom (The USA is not the greatest example of "freedom" these days). It's about money. It's always about money. War is always about money. The few elite making the bombs, missiles and tanks become incredibly wealthy while the rest of us suffer the depredations of war, either through being bombed or having our money stolen through the silent tax known as inflation resulting from the constant printing of worthless paper dollars.
I love Mr. Kunstler's writings. He's a very talented individual. But I disagree with him on America's inserting itself in all of these wars. Iran isn't the threat to the world. The money printing presses are and the printing presses run because of America's spending on its wars and bloated welfare state.
Nobody gives a shit about this. As long as Iran does what Trump tells them to do, that's all that matters.
I agree with most of what you say here, but how did we lose the Iraq war? It went like greased lightning for us. What we lost was the postwar occupation of Iraq, which was quite the cock-up. The war and the occupation were linked, of course, but not the same thing.
The slow train wreck of our occupation (same for Afghanistan) should have taught us plenty, but there is no evidence it did. How we pulled it off successfully in Japan and West Germany, but failed in a couple of anarchic sand kingdoms, should occupy many minds among politicians and military analysts.
@Cankerpuss Great comment, you explained very well how these wars and the war budget function. It's all a big grift, and a huge part of the economy now (since the elites gave away the manufacturing base, and financialization of what's left of the economy). Well said.
Unfortunately Iran is a threat to the world. They are only weeks away from achieving 90% weapons grade uranium while at the same time developing ICBM force. There is only a brief time for a few economically balanced partners on this planet to allow unhinged religious zealots destroy the future of humanity.
Iran is just weeks away from having fearsome nuclear weapons, and always will be.
The US includes as many unhinged religious zealots as Iran.
No, it is NOT threat to the world. Iran hasn't invaded another nation for more than 200 years while the USA has military bases in more than 150 nations throughout the world. But you are okay with that, right? For some reason you see Iran as a threat and the USA is the big cuddly teddy bear in the room. It baffles me. Iran doesn't even have enough water to supply its own cities and people and you think they are threat to the world? Please.
You've been watching too much Sean Hannity or listening to too much Mark Levin. Turn them off.
That sounds just like those tall tales about WMD's in Iraq. Remember how well that war went?
No, uranium enrichment from yellow cake reactor grade (5%) to weapons grade (90%) is exponential. At Iranian current levels of 60%, reaching 90% only takes 12 weeks. See https://missilestrikes.com/nuclear-status/
It's worse than you think.
Wow. . .so, possibly, hypothetically speaking, in 3 months or so Iran MIGHT have enriched this uranium. . .and then in a few years down the line the could have constructed a large, heavy, crude, low-yield atomic bomb similar to the ones the US used in WW2. . .1940's technology. . .and they would, of course, have had to test-fire one to make sure it worked (perhaps by the mid 2030's) and, given another 50 years and a few hundred billion, maybe, someday, the could possibly develop miniaturized nuclear warheads, and test fire those too, and also develop accurate, long-range modern ICBM's, with MIRV technology (sometime within the next 100 years) and then. . .
Do you think that Iran is currently showing their lack of ability by using 1940’s technology? Seriously? They are not some backward civilization.
Iran bought the plans for an atomic weapon from Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani nuclear scientist. Pakistan now has at least 170 atomic bombs and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran knows how to make something that works out of the box.
The cat is out of the bag.
And, to think, why if Iran did acquire ICBM's, and miniaturized nuclear warheads, and an accurate way to deliver them. . you know, by 2126 or so. . .why, if they did that, North Korea might follow suit! And even Pakistan! And what if, heaven forbid, China and Russia got this technology? Wouldn't that be a dreadful state of affairs?
What's good for Lockheed is good for America!
Isn't it?
The value of the dollars in my savings accounts and the prices of homes these days says otherwise. But Lockheed stocks are fantastic!
All true. So many people are gung-ho for US power abroad, but those self-same people only ever pay the costs and never see any of the benefits.
Wars are like fires: easy to start, but very, very difficult to end, to put out. Trump is learning that the hard way.
Tom, what part of, “death to America” don’t you understand? Do you want to wait until you find out that New York City has been incinerated?
Oh shut up. God. Iran has been 3 weeks away from getting a nuke for 30 years.
New York incinerated? Tell me, Bill, who is the only country to ever actually have used a nuke on another nation? It's not Iran. It's the good old US of A. Ask Japan about that.
Iran hasn't invaded another nation for 200 years and they have not equipment or infrastructure to wage war against the behemoth bully USA on the other side of the world.
You're afraid of the boogie man.
Why don't you focus instead on the deteriorating state of the USA. The constant inflation thanks to money printing to fund all of these illegal wars.
I'm more afraid of the millions upon millions of illegal America hating immigrant interlopers enjoying a free ride on our backs than I am a bunch of poverty stricken Persians on the other side of the world. You don't care about this, do you, Bill, while they eviscerate our culture from the inside with our military spread throughout the world doing who knows what.
Please.
BS. They are the #1 backer of terrorism globally.
Mainstream media talking points only. You've been watching too much pro-Republican Sean Hannity. Name the last terrorist attack that has been sponsored by Iran on American soil, and I'm not talking about some illegal American military base a fart, skip and a jump away from the Iranian national border.
Good to know that in your world, Americans are only meant to be protected if they are sitting on American soil. I suspect you don’t travel much.
You failed to list the Iranian terror attacks that have occurred recently, if ever, on US soil (the 50 states and territories). Still waiting.
This is a most curious argument, Inisfad. You are telling me that the USA has the right to invade, murder or otherwise make war on anyone, any nation, anywhere throughout the globe as long as it is protecting Americans anywhere they stand? Is that the point you are trying to make?
I have lived in Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and Utah the majority of my life. I also lived and worked in Geraldton, Western Australia for 5 years. I lived in Guadalajara Mexico for nearly a year during a college study abroad program. When living in those foreign countries I knew fully well that I was OUTSIDE of the legal borders of the USA and as such had to rely upon the laws and customs of the countries where I was residing for any protection.
Do I believe anyone can kill Americans abroad without repercussions. Absolutely not. However, as one who has travelled and lived abroad I also understood that when I left the confines of the USA my life was in my own hands. The USA has no jurisdiction over the world. Period.
Your reasoning is flawed to its very core.
First of all, the US funded Iran and served as its de-facto ally under both the Obama and the Biden administrations, signing a treaty green-lighting its nuclear program. I am not concerned about people screaming Death to America who are paid with American dollars: that is just theater. Second, Iran never had a nuclear weapon. If Iran did develop one, it would be 1940's technology, a very large, heavy, crude, low-yield device similar to what the US used on Japan. People who really know about their program in depth have said that Iran's nuclear delivery system would be "a truck". To "incinerate NYC" Iran would first have to develop and successfully test fire a nuclear device, then spend decades developing miniaturized nuclear warheads that could be mounted atop an ICBM, and test fire those, while simultaneously developing ICBM's, and testing them. . .perhaps in 50 years with many tens of billions of dollars, they might accomplish that. Maybe. But, for the time being and the near future, they wouldn't be capable of even hitting NYC with a nuclear device in the first place, let alone incinerating it.
You're a thinker, TM. Not one who subscribes to the propaganda bull shit thrown at them by the puppet masters. Bill is. Makes me sick that there are still people who believe some poverty stricken country on the other side of the world is going to swim over there and nuke America. Can you imagine what it is like to be inside one of these peoples' heads? The fear. The hate. The Iranians are coming! KILL THEM ALL or they will kill all of us. Good God almighty!
US also allowed open borders and the bombardment of perhaps 20 million illegal aliens. They also, under the presidents you cite, basically funded a wide sex and drug trafficking agenda. What was done then is immaterial now. And who exactly are ‘people who really know about the Iranian nuclear program’??? Utter BS.
It might happen with Mamdani either way.
Self-imposed destruction.
New York will be a larger version of Skid Row, really soon, thanks to the idiot they put into power there.
Another symptom of liberal self-loathing.
Now that is something one should really be afraid of. But the Bills of the world don't give a damn about what's happening here, as long as we are killing Iranians, Iraqis, Syrians, and all the others we are currently militarily engaged with.
I guess you’re not a knicks fan either lol
@Ben NY was already well on its way to complete destruction from good ol' capitalists. Maybe they elected Mamdani to take the fall and be the scapegoat? He is likely to rule from the center and not do much to shake things up, as all the "socialist" campaigners and politicians who "talk a good game" on the campaign trail (see Obama, Bernie Sanders, etc.).
No he will absolutely shit the bed in New York.
One big steamy pile.
Like Trump shits his pants?
Or like Trump shit the world economy?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mamdani is curb stomping you pussies.
🫵🤡
https://x.com/bluelivesmtr/status/2068432163310117083?s=20
I get your point Bill, but saving NYC isn't a great counterbalance, many of us kinda think the bombers would be doing the US a favor.
Only saving DC would be a weaker arguement.
"what part of, “death to America” don’t you understand?" Why are you so afraid of words and empty threats? There used to be a phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones..." I suggest developing a thicker skin, and becoming less paranoid lol
Think of how much money they're making. They LOVE them some Israel! The United States? It can dry up and blow away once they have made their money.
You sound like Senator Lindsey Graham, if he was honest for one moment of his life. He has made it clear that he is Israel first, and has openly said that he told his constituents to send their sons and daughters to go fight in the Middle East. He's a catcher, not a pitcher, BTW. Did you see those pictures of him at Disney Land, by himself with some kind of bubble blower in his hand, a few weeks ago?
No, I don't follow him like you do.
I go back and forth on that one , the alternate explanation being that like it as not those five nations the neocons circa Bush ll had on their play list have all come to pass and the middle east is actually starting to take on a different appearance than it did back when Baby Bush said this here war on terror was going to take a long ass time . remember all that ? I do . Not chearleading it , just pointing out the facts , Iraq , Syria , Libya , Lebanon , Iran . See the underlying continuity of the long term geo strategic plan for the middle east continuing on apace while most peoples short attention spans are fixated on the latest laser pointer cat distraction ?
It's a virtual certainty that Israel will scuttle any agreement by continuing to bomb Lebanon.
Skillington -- What are they supposed to do? Just let Hezbollah fire rockets at them? Maybe Iran has some responsibility to make Hezbollah cut it out.
WTF is Israel doing in Lebanon in the first place? Ethnically cleansing it in order to expand its borders and take land by force. This is why Hezbollah does what it does. No other reason. It's not because of Islamic fanaticism, it's because of Zionist fanaticism.
Israel has been getting away with this for so many decades thanks to relentless, unblinking support from the USA. Being defeated by Iran has now, at long last, curbed that support. Trump sees his options are either to give Iran what it's asking for or they will destroy the world economy. They have the means and demonstrated capability to do just that, by flattening what's left of the Gulf oil infrastructure. And the USA lacks the ability to stop them, or it would have done so by now.
Maybe Israel has a responsibility to realize that it is the maniac in the room, and needs to come to its senses at long fucking last.
Got that wrong. Ever been to the south in Lebanon? Israelis aren’t angels but when fighting the devil, do you capitulate or fight back?
My solution would completely eliminate any conflict between Zionists and anyone else in the Middle East.
Regardless, I think Trump has decided to cut and run.
Bibi is about to learn the same lesson that countless former allies, employees, cabinet members, attorneys, and supporters have already learned: with Trump, loyalty is a one-way street.
He's not loyal to Israel. He's not loyal to the United States. He's loyal to himself.
Calling that TDS doesn't make it false. It just avoids dealing with the evidence.
A rabid dog cannot be reasoned with.
True, you can't be.
They are about to be defunded.
They had no part in the negotiations. In that part of the world that is known as a Stupd Move.
They certainly will try.
Your ethnic roots have distorted your reality regarding Iran. You're on the wrong side there and losing your reader base.
Seidel-- You'd be more credible if you spelled out how I supposedly distort reality, rather just asserting as much.
Here’s an example of your delusion:
“It only demonstrates how delusional and untrustworthy they are.”
This statement applies in spades to the U.S. and Israel for starting this war. In the middle of negotiations no less.
This statement ignores forty years of proxy wars directly against the US and US interests, while the US mostly ignored Iran and what it was doing in the region.
So to put it bluntly, you are wrong.
We're a long way from home when we're in and around their home. So they fight back, sometimes effectively. That sometimes has increased to often. If they destroyed our bases, they can destroy our ships at any time.
You keep saying this, but you are clueless.
They are not able to hit a moving target that can also shoot back.
The bases are not destroyed, sure they damaged some buildings, big whoop.
Your penchant for hyperbole is off the rails.
I also don't understand why Jim characterizes the Iranians as insane and "maniacs" every week. Israel wants to destroy their culture and they want to preserve it. What's irrational about that?
Because he is either part of or victim of decades of western media propaganda.
Is Iran a showcase of liberalism? No. Neither is Israel or the Gulf States in general. Iran under the Mullahs is far less repressive than under the Shah whose secret police carried out more murders and tortures in a year than the Mullahs in ten.
The fact of the matter is despite years of sanctions, overt as well as covert western attempts to create regime change in Iran, this “oppressive, horrible regime” has resulted in a nation where doctoral candidates outnumber those in the US by a five to one margin. Where female STEM graduates outnumber the US by 39% to 12%. Where their literacy rate is ten points higher than ours and women are at 98% literacy rate compared to 40% under the Shah.
The 10,000 or so Jews living in Iran by choice are free to worship in their synagogues and protected by fatwa. Is it a picnic for them? No. But if they wanted to “kill all the Jews” they have a funny way of doing it. In reality Israel has killed off far more Palestinians by a large measure. So who’s the crazed regime?
Part of. Unlike his dittoheads on this site, he's too intelligent to be clueless.
That would require understanding anything other than Jew hatred.
Most of these idiots don't understand why they think the way they do.
165 schoolgirls killed.
Water treatment plants and hospitals and bridges destroyed.
All war crimes.
Are you intelligent enough to understand?
Are you so stupid that you ignore that they have shot at every country in the region and killed civilians all over the Middle East?
So as long as Iran is killing people, it's to be ignored?
You are a complete liberal moron.
Yip! Yip! Yip!
On behalf of all of here, please ask your boyfriend to swat you with a rolled up newspaper.
Each of us has an inherent level of bias. What distinguishes one perspective from the next is the degree of pure objectivity applied equally at every level of analysis.
If one is unable to find fault with an individual or entity they trust or have trusted at other levels, that may indicate selective bias without objective cause.
To the best of one's ability in the quest to ascertain it, the nearest understanding reflecting objective truth should be the sole arbiter in framing one's views.
Wearing your *totenkopf* t-shirt around town, or are you a closet antisemite, Herr Seidel?
🇮🇱🕎🇮🇱🕎
Cool it with the bullshit. Bob.
But Bobs nasty post is A OK?
I agree with it. Nothing nasty about it.
My grandfather was from Ireland. In his mind, no Irish person could ever do wrong. It wasn't worth arguing with him. He couldn't be rational on matters relating to Ireland.
Your blind spot obviously.
I don't see bobs post as being anything but reality.
I have no idea what you're talking about. Are Ron Unz, Max Blumenthal, etc. antisemites?
A poll in the Jerusalem Post says that 40% of American jews agree that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Are they all antisemites?
BOOGA BOOGA! The old worn-out antisemite accusation has lost its power from decades of abuse. The great majority of hatred directed at Israel has been caused by Zionists, like you. Go ahead: call me one. ZZZzzz...
Bobby you smoking the drapes?
The Iranian people en masse disagree with you, as does simple logic and morality.
Talk about being blinded by ideology.
Quite candidly, I've quit giving a shit about what happens in or to Ukraine, Russia, and much of the rest of Europe at this point. Half of Europe is becoming more Islamic-dominated rathole than civilized Western civilization. How native Europeans think that will turn out OK is a mystery to me, in part because the Islamists overrunning Europe, unlike many of their Islamic counterparts in the Mideast, don't have the oil to sell to keep their regimes financed once they take politically take over European countries. Europe ain't gonna look like a forested version of Qatar; it's gonna look like Yemen with forests and grass, until the forests get cut down for firewood.
As for Ukraine, it's been trying for years now to mix a corn-pone version of Fascist/Socialism to run its country, with a ton of WEF and U.S. leftist/neo-con funding propping it up. It's gone from being the breadbasket of Europe to being the basket case of Europe. Ukraine's claim to fame is bombing Russia and killing Russians--Russia being the major oil and natural gas supplier to much of Europe. Were it not for the U.S. being nice guys and sending oil to Europe during the Iran dustup, Europe would be heading for 1700 A.D. by now--it may still get there.
Meanwhile, Russia is now, thanks in large part to the war in Ukraine, a very dangerous country. How so? Well, the war in Ukraine has made it painfully obvious that the Russian military's much bragged upon conventional capability really is not very capable. No one should take much solace in that because such European gloating about it ignores the fact that Russia holds a massive stockpile of tactical and strategic nuclear warheads that it can deliver to anywhere that it chooses to. And it may choose to if it runs out of alternatives in Ukraine. And what would the U.S. do about that? Well, many Americans might just say, "Do nothing"--after all, most of Europe hasn't done jack-shit for the U.S. in years, and certainly hasn't in the Iran affair. Which proves, once again, what morons the Socialist wusses running "free" Europe are--they are the ones who would benefit most from helping the U.S. end the radical Islamist threat from Iran. But, did they help? Not really.
President Trump has been doing his best (best of any President in the last 47 years) to bring some stability to the Mideast. I hope that he is successful. But, his main thrust now needs to be to end the de facto Socialist revolution occurring in America, exit NATO and the UN, concentrate on securing the Western Hemisphere from Chinese Communist influence, reduce our dependence on the Communist Chinese junk flooding into the U.S., and to put the American peoples' interests first. That will be a challenge--many will try to stop him, by any means possible. A recent poll reflects the hatred that the "New Left" has for America. Only 29% of Democrats polled say they love America. My conclusion from that poll, if the poll is accurate, is that over 7 out of 10 Democrats are nothing but America-hating piles of shit.
You do realize Russia has only used reservists in the fight with Ukraine.
Not a fan of Russia, but I also have no skin in the game against them either.
The far right appears to have a deep-seated hatred of America as well.
While we are at it, nuke delivery systems and nukes themselves require extensive maintenance. I suspect they have not kept up with any of it, as the very tires of their convoys rotted off, leaving them stranded.
Russia seems to be the essence of a paper tiger, great at defense, using nature as a defensive measure, but on the offense, they fall apart over and over.
Bingo, Ben. The military industrial complex just wants to make money and hates nationalists. MAGA is very different from America First. Come out from among them, Ben.
I'd volunteer to be Ben's sponsor if he'd be baptized.
Is that like co-signing a loan? Would his sins fall upon you if he relapses?
An insincere conversion falls on his soul, not mine. Like the crusades or the inquisition, I'm entering into this with the best of intentions.
This ‘situation report’ sums things up comprehensively and well. Western Europeans are dying out — fallow and barren comes at a price. Priority for Western Hemispheric interests is the strategic imperative. The anti-American global-progressive-leftists are intent upon remaking the world, see Jacobins, Fabians, Bolsheviks, Red Guards, Antifa — if we let them. Those with low throw-weight (and testosterone) need to take a seat. The world belongs to the vibrant.
Cornpone? Classic anti-White hate speech.
Whenever I see one of those "Coexist" bumper stickers, the song from Mr. Rogers, with a slight rewrite, comes to mind: "One of these things isn't like the others, one of these things just can't get along..." Islam in a nutshell.
No more NATO and stop support of Ukraine. Enough is enough
Is that you, Putin?
No……it’s Annette from Detroit☺️🇺🇸
JHK doesn’t even mention the $300 billion “reconstruction fund” in the MOU which will be available for any use Iran chooses.
That tells you all you need to know about today’s “analysis “.
Gonzo Don -- You obviously don't understand what that fund consists of and how it is designed to be used. We're not just handing over that money, and it's disingenuous for you to imply as much.
Except the USA has spent the last 47 years doing everything in its power to halt, prevent and undo Iran's development, whereas it's now going to facilitate it. All while ceding it (with Oman) control over the Strait of Hormuz. Instead of free and clear passage, which served U.S. interests, Iran will be able to collect "service fees".
Iran has already demonstrated effective mastery over the Gulf region. Just think what they'll be able to do with this kind of financing.
Do you not remember the Marshall plan and the US rebuilding Europe and Japan?
Do you not remember the fiasco after WW1, punishing Germany creating Hitler?
It is the entire Sunni group that will administer the $300 billion, and I really doubt if much missile or nuke buying will happen.
The best way to conquer an enemy is to make them a friend.
Iran will not run open loop with a single dollar, 60 days from now if things do not progress, he we go again.
BTW, whatever happened to all the disaster effects of 300 dollar oil and 10 dollar gasoline go? The same place as all the other bullshit promulgated by the MSM and their trolls on this blog.
Of course I remember the plan as well as the fiasco. There is a body of opinion saying that Macron deliberately trolled Trump by offering to hold the signing at Versailles, precisely because of the analogy to the ending of WWI.
As for the Marshall plan, the difference here is the USA actually did enact regime change in Germany, before financing its reconstruction. In Iran, Trump tried and failed to change the regime, before capitulating and acceding to Iran's demands. It's as if the USA had been the aggressor against Nazi Germany, only to be fought to a standstill and create the Marshall Plan to enable the Nazis to rebuild. (Except even the mullahs are nowhere near as evil as the Nazis were, but that's the limits of historical analogy for you.)
But there is no analogy in either WWI or WWII to the USA's decades-long backing of its bloodthirsty client ethnostate in the Middle East, or of the sudden reversal in Israel's fortunes. All because Iran has successfully defied the USA for five decades now, and the USA now understands that pushing Iran any farther will lead to Iran shooting the world's oil economy, and thus the U.S. economy, in the head.
The "disaster effects" haven't happened... *yet*, and that's for one reason: China, like the USA, has stockpiles and sharply reduced its oil imports, from 10.6 million barrels/day last year to 6.8 million barrels last month.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Chinas-Oil-Buying-Pause-Wont-Last-Forever.html
That's around a 40 percent decrease. Don't kid yourself, they did Trump and the entire world a huge favour by limiting demand. Trump still needs to make the deal stick, or the disaster effects are still very, very much on the menu.
JHK, your clean-up effort to remove the nuts from the blog is failing again. This blog is returning to the hater majority it was a few months back.
Daddy, Daddy, JHK! There are people posting here who don’t necessarily agree with you! Or, worse yet, they are saying things that are openly CRITICAL of Dear Leader and some of the decisions he makes!
This is intolerable and unAmerican. Please shut all dissenting voices down, like like they do in other countries led by authoritarians.
I shout “TDS!” loudly every time I encounter one of these heretics, but it’s not enough! We need you to make them go away so I never have my cult-like worship of Dear Leader questioned!
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Definitions
Hater Spite aimed at a person or cause no matter what the real story is. They are typically products of the MSM propaganda. No matter what contrary info they see, makes no difference. Their targets get speared and negative comments abound no matter what. Known for name calling when they do not have counter arguments. TDS is just one form. JHK does not censor dissension, he censors jerks.
There it is! “TDS!”
Down a shot!
TDS = Hater Spite
😢
People can and do get censored and banned from this space for disagreeing too often and too confidently with James Howard Kunstler. Ask me how I know.
Not disagreeing, just being an asshole when you do.
Yeah, the cope, cope, cope copecope... We're here to read the cope, cope, cope copecope. (h/t Meryn Cadell)
Kunstler clearly still has a rager on to bomb, punish, destroy Iran if that can possibly be managed somehow. The problem is, the war failed and it failed definitively within the first few days. If the 'Atlas of Iran's Missile Cities' were all that important, it would have enabled the USA to take those sites out sometime between March and now. Either they can't, or if they made the attempt then Iran would nonetheless have time enough to finish the process of destroying the remaining oil infrastructure within its reach and plunge the global economy into a Trump Depression.
Clearly, Trump's generals were able to make him understand this, which is why Trump has made the only move possible which is to accede to Iran's demands and tell Israel to pound sand.
The Iranians are masters of defensive war. They are too deeply dug in. Our bombs destroy the portals, but underneath all is fine. So they dig out and hit us back just as hard.
So why don’t they? Simple question.
The potential answer is they do not in fact have much left.
I love the weasel-word 'potential'. The not 'potential' but actual answer is, whether they survive or not, they have enough capacity left to destroy all the remaining oil infrastructure in the Gulf, and they can get the job done before the USA is able to stop them. They have a knife to the jugular vein of the global oil economy, and the USA isn't quick enough on the draw to rescue it.
No matter his big talk, the USA can't escape the effects of a global depression, and Trump knows it. That's their weapon. Iran has no interest in hitting the USA for its own sake: what they want is to survive, and to get the USA and Israel's boot off their neck. And now, they have the Paul Atreides solution: whoever can destroy a thing, has the control of that thing. Frank Herbert was a prophet.
Exactly right, why do you think they wanted the nukes except control over the Gulf and its multi-country oil infrastructure? Same thing Saddam Hussein wanted for Iraq and the US went after him in 1991 and then W tried to fix. You are aware that we are obligated by 1943 treaty to protect Saudi Arabia from its neighbors in exchange for full access to SA oil. FDR and Ibn-Saud. Look at even today, no nukes and open Straits are the main goals, protect the oil.
Dune was based on the ME desert and the warriors of the ME countries. Oil is spice. There are no Fremen. Or Sardukar.
It seems like fantasy to believe that any "deal" with the Islamic regime will overcome centuries of "belief" and practice. They just bide their time. It is a belief system that is completely, totally and irrevocably incompatible with any other belief system. Plan accordingly.
This is one of those statements that tells you a lot more about the speaker than about the topic. Yes, Iran is run by mullahs. But they have acted exceedingly rationally in their own interest, and in the interest of overcoming US/Israeli aggression against them and returning to the community of nations.
It took a long time, but the test came on February 28th and they passed with flying colours. Iran has achieved an overwhelming success and looks like being the new regional hegemon around the Persian Gulf. Rational actors acting rationally. It's Israel that has behaved like a Bronze Age tribe, making war on all its neighbours relentlessly, taking their land, killing and ethnically cleansing their populations. You should learn to recognize who is a rational actor and who is not.
Wow, the collecting $7000 crew has widened.
The Iranians have shown themselves to be far more disciplined, strategically savvy, and diplomatically capable of crafting an agreement than Israel or the US. They have been the only grownups in the room and the only civilized participant. Our host is too bigoted against Muslims to accept or admit that, and his dittoheads have no mind of their own or clue about legitimate sources of information.
Hmmm, under which form of government would a Christian, a female child, a gay person, feel safer, a Jewish State or an Islamic State? I rest my case.
And a poor case it is. Rational behaviour is rational behaviour. I don't call it something it isn't because of a difference of values.
Sure, Iran oppresses girls, women, gays. Saudi Arabia does the same -- gay sex is a capital offence. And they're a valued ally. Meanwhile, Israel has received unstinting American support for decades, and they drop Palestinians off roofs:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8jg0x5xg8o
They rape and torture Palestinians in detention, with impunity for the torturing rapists:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/israeli-military-top-lawyer-drops-charges-soldiers-palestinian-detainee-abuse-gaza
They have a disturbing record of dead Palestinian children with single shots to the head or chest, indicating the little ones are targeted:
https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v/2025/gunshot-palestine-children-israel-war~v1819649/
Shall I go on? Because this particular well is very, very deep.
“Sure, Iran oppresses girls, women, gays.”
Gays yes, girls, women, not so much.
The fact of the matter is despite years of sanctions, overt as well as covert western attempts to create regime change in Iran, this “oppressive, horrible regime” has resulted in a nation where doctoral candidates outnumber those in the US by a five to one margin. Where female STEM graduates outnumber the US by 39% to 12%. Where their literacy rate is ten points higher than ours and women are at 98% literacy rate compared to 40% under the Shah.
Gays, Israel. Christians, Iran. The Shia are much better than Sunnis in this regard.
Islamic
just.... WOW!
True. Now imagine the hubris and hatred our our Elite who brought them here by the millions to live among us. Those people are the real enemy.
Plenty of drama moving forward... not new, but at least it'll keep the hyperbole stoked.
One angle I haven't seen mentioned has to do with Trump's petulant side. He's quite famous for making it hurt for people that cross him. With that, I see, at least in the background, this MOU complete with all the "they can have missiles" rhetoric as a poke at the GCC for wanting no resolution... just commerce. Taken from a Saudi perspective [forget the Israeli gambit for now] and see what they see: A funded, armed, arrogant Iran with control of the strait. I can almost see Trump in a sidebar with their king saying, "OK. You wanted it bad....you got it bad. Let me know when you grow some stones."
Jim touched on it here: "Get an Islamic Middle Eastern country to help clean up that mess..." Yup.
Should be fun.
That should have been on the table from day one.
All those Sunni nations should have been in on this to the hilt instead of bribing the US to do it with "investments" in the trillions.
How much do they spend on their little armies and Air Force?
Sunni Gulf nations = NATO as both just want Uncle Sam to take care of them.
How many NATO, EU, WEF, OPEC conferences have been conducted to find out new ways to sucker the US. How much of the contention between the US and Russia has been put in place by Europe?
Who exactly is the US biggest foreign enemy?
Then, we need to acknowledge that our biggest enemy is domestic, the Democratic Socialist movement and its ability to dupe ignorant folks.
Lavrov chastised them in much the same manner. Arrant playboys and greed heads who wouldn't lift a finger to help their brothers in Palestine. The Shia were willing to help even though Palestine is mostly Sunni. But their own co-religionists didn't give a god damn.
This whole fiasco is about using US forces to defend Israel from Iran. Iran is no threat to the US, only to Israel.
Israel should not be America's problem. It's a distant foreign country which has repeatedly proven it has no respect for America, bombing the Liberty, selling Pollard's stolen secrets to the USSR, and manipulating Congress via AIPAC.
One of the best and most concise reports as always.
The thing that has just smacked me upside my head is that the EU with its Globalist, Atlanticist, Neocon machinations and this insane desire to go to war with Russia, one must conclude The EU IS A DEATH CULT!
That, and the EU is resource-poor. For that reason, they, perhaps even more than our own neocons in the Rand Corporation and the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), just can't stand it that Russia EXISTS, sitting as it does on top of all that oil, gas, gold, uranium, timber, minerals, etc. They feel that by rights all those goodies should be THEIRS, and they just will not give up their determination to get their grubby hands on it all. Therefore, Russia, that great, 1,000+year-old nation, must be made to cease to exist.
The Middle East is the home to three major religions including dozens of offshoots, a mixed bag of royalty, impostors, crypto-whatevers, carpetbaggers, looters (think oil) and migrants. It is the home of ancient civilizations and crazy politics with 5,000 years of struggle and unrest.
It is the world's most sticky political tarbaby. Many of the MAGA faithful were proclaiming it'd all be over within a week when Operation Epic Fury was launched at the end of February. It's been epic all right, and so far has showcased the limit of high-tech warfare and is testing the limit the limit of how little hot air and agreement incapable parties have in moving forward towards peace.
The epic part may be moving in a different direction now, and could more easily become the catalyst/scapegoat for a broader conflict. In times of Decline, which gets little to no recognition from the MAGA faithful, this is how things roll. The pie of wealth is shrinking, and many paths lead to violence as human nature drives all parties to cling to their standards of living. Good luck to us all - we'll need it.