Tootfinder

"De Amerikanen papegaaien al geruime tijd het Russische mantra als zou Zelensky weg moeten als president, volgens Colijn maakt ook dat de verkiezingen een gevaarlijke exercitie. Rusland doet er immers alles aan om Oekraïne te destabiliseren en 'als je Oekraïne wil destabiliseren, dan ga je nu met spoed verkiezingen organiseren'. "

Mogelijk Oekraïense verkiezingen onder Amerikaanse druk, ‘spelen met vuur, ondoordacht, destabiliserend’
De Oekraïense president Zelensky kondigt mogelijk presidentsverkiezingen én een referendum aan, meldt Financial Times. Volgens de krant gaat dat onder zware druk van de Amerikanen die willen dat een vredesakkoord aan de Oekraïners wordt voorgelegd, simultaan met presidentsverkiezingen, een lang gekoesterde Russische wens. 'De Amerikanen lijken niet echt heel goed na te denken over wat dit kan betekenen voor de stabiliteit van Oekraïne', zegt Oekraïne-correspondent Chris Colijn. 

Mr. Wright, the energy secretary, caused a market commotion Tuesday
when he posted on social media that the Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.
His post drove up stocks and reassured oil markets.
Then, when he deleted the post after administration officials said no escorts had taken place, markets were once again thrust into turmoil.
Efforts to resume shipments have been complicated by intelligence that Iran was preparing to la…

How Trump and His Advisers Miscalculated Iran’s Response to War
In the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli attack, President Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets as a short-term concern that should not overshadow the mission to decapitate the Iranian regime.

After Trump administration officials gave a closed-door briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday,
Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, said on social media that the administration had “NO PLAN” for the Strait of Hormuz
and did “not know how to get it safely back open.”
Inside the administration, some officials are growing pessimistic about the lack of a clear strategy to finish the war.
But they have been careful not to express that directly to the presiden…

How Trump and His Advisers Miscalculated Iran’s Response to War
In the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli attack, President Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets as a short-term concern that should not overshadow the mission to decapitate the Iranian regime.

The Trump administration, spooked by possible preparations by Iran to mine the strait,
Carried out strikes against 16 mine-laying vessels near the strait on Tuesday.
US Central Command posted a video showing munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored as they were struck.
But the more potent threat remains the risk of a direct attack by Iran at scale
– for instance, a swarm of one-way attack drones or a series of shore-to-ship ballistic missiles, accordi…

So glad the US is going through difficult-to-replace missile interceptors (THAAD, Patriot, etc.) on a war of choice instead of having any in case North Korea or China decide to do anything.
So wise, so safe, our child-fondler in chief is exactly who we need as a leader at this time. /s
https:/…

North Korea conducts engine test for long-range missile
North Korea reports that Kim Jong Un watched a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. State media say the test boosts the country’s strategic strike capability. Experts say the claim may be exaggerated because key data is missing. Some say the program faces delays or seeks a better design. Solid-fuel engines help missiles move fast and hide before launch. North Korea has pushed hard to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim’s high-stakes diplomacy…

On that topic, see my text in the “Software in Context” section at the bottom of this reading assignment from one of the courses I teach:
“Generating code is the easiest part of software development.”
https://comp127.macalester.digital/f25/resources/classes_objects_state_behavior/

Maastricht hoopt op een positieve uitkomst van de DNA-test 😃
Skelet van vierde musketier d'Artagnan mogelijk na eeuwen gevonden - #maastricht

Skelet van vierde musketier d'Artagnan mogelijk na eeuwen gevonden
D'Artagnan werd in 1673 vermoord toen de Fransen Maastricht probeerden te belegeren, en zijn lichaam is sindsdien nooit gevonden.

Trump's latest war may end with the United States and its allies
(or, rather, countries that used to be allies)
worse off than when the war started.
His feckless and irresponsible secretary of defense acknowledged on Tuesday that Iran retains the ability to launch missiles and drones.
(Pete Kegsbreath is mystified that the MAGA base, which was told Trump opposed regime-change wars, is upset.)
He also insisted regime change has already occurred, a sign of h…

Trump Is Serious About Accepting a Humiliating Defeat
The disastrous war could end in a geopolitical nightmare.

Attorney General Pam Bondi emerged from a House Judiciary Committee hearing in February in an upbeat mood after delivering what she believed was her best,
which is to say most bombastically defiant,
defense of her handling of the release of the Epstein files.
Many others, including some of her allies, thought her testimony
— hours of high-volume insults and non sequiturs (“The Dow is over $50,000 now!”)
— was a miscalculation that only deepened distrust of Ms. B…

Bondi Is Vulnerable as Republican Frustrations Over DOJ’s Epstein Files Missteps Grow
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s critics inside and outside the administration say she has made unforced errors that have turned the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files into a political crisis.