Tootfinder

It would be hard to find a human on Earth unaffected by the US-Israel war against Iran.
Several thousand have been killed.
Millions more are paying each day in steeper food prices or at the petrol pump,
and as inflation eats away at the value of their earnings.
For many, the final bill has not yet come, but it will eventually.
They will pay for the long-term damage caused by the biggest threat of all to the global economy:
uncertainty.
Uncertainty …

International response to Trump’s call for the dispatch of warships has so far proved vague and reluctant,
with countries unwilling to commit to a military response that could prove treacherous for their navies.
Tehran has said any oil tanker heading for the US, Israel or its allies is a legitimate target in the war and will be “immediately destroyed”.
Sixteen tankers have been attacked in the strait of Hormuz since the war started at the end of February
and Iran has…

Some thoughts from Claude about military use of AI in targeting.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYIHIM6ihVJ/?igsh=cmM1ZmdjaDl3bzJ5

At a time when their is war on the european continent, our former ally the US does this... Putin will be pleased.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/world/europe/us-nato-cuts-drawdown-jets.html?un…

U.S. Plan Is Said to Pull a Third of Fighter Jets It Provides NATO for Europe
The plan, outlined by officials and in a written document, provides rare clarity about the extent to which the Trump administration intends to reduce its commitment to NATO.

"... that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us …"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/11/pope-leo-us-israel-iran-war?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Pope says ‘enough of war’ and decries ‘delusion of omnipotence’ at peace vigil
Leo’s comments did not directly mention war in Iran but read as his strongest condemnation of the conflict yet

"Its authors — some of the world’s best intelligence-gatherers, who contributed thousands of their own photos — kept the curated database updated and online for public use at no charge."
Eulogy for the CIA Factbook: The free standard for world facts, long an educational staple, is gone

Farewell to the CIA World Factbook, a reference manual now gone under Trump
The Trump administration has shut down the CIA World Factbook, and there's much lamenting about the demise of a free source that many people used to check basic facts about countries. The end came on Feb. 4 in a “fond farewell” post from the spy agency. The CIA says the decision reflects an agency whose core mission has changed over the years. Factbook fans say they'll miss the trusted reference point that had its origins in World War II-era intelligence work. It went public in 1975 and bec…

The first US-born pope said:
“Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Addressing world leaders who decide to go to war, Leo said:
“To them we cry out: stop!
It is time for peace!
Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation
– not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided.”
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!
Enough of the display of power!
Enough of war!

Hashtag No King graffiti in the rubble
Seen on The GUARDIAN (URL below): An Iranian flag hangs amidst the rubble of a building at the Sharif University of Technology, which was damaged in a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
In the rubble, a piece of wall spray-painted with "#NOKING" (hashtag No King)
Photograph: Majid-Asgaripour/Reuters

My pitch if I ran a TV production company would be something like:
Twelve episodes a year of 3-episode serials: That keeps the number of sets you have to construct down. It gives each story the complexity of a movie and time to breath without the frantic pace. You can have one every season of the year.
You gotta remember to focus on the companion. This isn't really a story about The Doctor, it's about the companions asking the question, Doctor Who?
Episodes should generally start with a companion's face or escapade coz they're the ones we're identifying with as we figure out who the doctor is.
At some point in 2027 you'll cast and announce a new doctor.
This is when you call Billie Piper in to film and release a webisode which is just the regeneration into Billie so far: her going "Oh, hello?" Then shaking her head and saying "oh hell no" and shaking harder until she shakes the face off into the new man or woman you picked who says "Oh, that was close".
That change into the Bad Wolf Doctor was just bad without a capstone xmas episode. So a one minute tik-tokable short to announce the newbie frees you of it.
Then you can start ep1 filming and released nearly a year later on the 65th anniversary with a story that focuses on the companion getting into trouble and meeting The Doctor.
Cast nobody famous. The production is about making stars not finding them I don't want anyone having preconceived notions about the character from seeing the actor in that other show even it it was a really good one and they're great.
Earthbound cross-time time-travel story for serial one to pick up new companion, intervene in an aliens vs aliens space-war in serial two, go screw up history and fix it for the third and aliens endangering companion's family for the fourth.
When they're 3-episode serials you only need four a year. Different writer for each.
Cliff-hangers between episodes in each serial of course, with stories about the nature of time and space and getting along with other cultures and running up and down corridors and scary monsters and of course the question "who is The Doctor and how can they fix this without guns or violence with just a screwdriver and two hearts worth of compassion".
The Doctor is some weird looking older dude, more importantly vivid and strange and scholarly than handsome. He has a big coat and no question marks. Then he can change clothes but with the same coat always have the same look. He needs to be able to do a good arrogant rant at himself while he thinks.
The companion is curious and brave and young enough to be naive and surprised and energetic. Doesn't do what she's told. Wonders off against orders. Maybe sometimes bombs things.
Obviously you keep the blue box and the tune and make a new style screwdriver.
You need to do the behind the scenes shows too. Not sure if they make or cost money but they are brilliant for the geeky fandom. That may be why it came back last time.
Anyway. Sadly I don't own a production company.
I cancelled the TV license in the mean time. Give the money to Big Finish instead. These audio things are expensive. I've bought bundles before. Anyone have favorites? I lose track of which one's I've heard.
#doctorWho

Before the illegal US-Israeli war against Iran:
- Negotiations on nuclear development ongoing
- Strait of Hormuz open
- Oil price at $60
After:
- Negotiations to start on resolving the recent mess
- Lots of destruction in Iran and Gulf states
- Strait of Hormuz practically closed
- Oil price at $96
- Most of Europe known for its 'understanding' for breaking international law
- Economic problems around the world, inflation on the rise…

Time to read or watch Persepolis again...
"Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-French author whose graphic novel series “Persepolis” introduced millions of readers to the struggles of ordinary Iranians during the turbulent years around the Islamic Revolution, has died at 56."
(The film is visible on various streaming - such as Amazon and Apple for a couple of $$ - well worth it.)

Marjane Satrapi, the Author of ‘Persepolis,’ Dies at 56
Her popular graphic novel series, published in the early 2000s, followed an Iranian girl through the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.

"The best war oratory is not actually about war. It is about peace. People hear it and think not merely of the lives that might be lost, but of a way of life that might be: they fear for culture, for democracy, for decency. You weep at good oratory because you fear not just a lost war but a lost world. Yet when you watch the White House videos, you weep for a lost world anyway. "
🎁
The rhetoric of war has changed. Not for the better
https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/04/23/the-rhetoric-of-war-has-changed-not-for-the-better?giftId=ZTk0ZjgzMDEtMDk0YS00MGUxLWI3ZWUtMTU4NWE5MTFhNDEy&utm_campaign=gifted_article

Lebanon Is Teetering at the Abyss of a New Civil War (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-civil-war-cb8f63e1?st=dgE4Xi&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
http://www.memeorandum.com/260609/p17#a260609p17

Just read this really well-informed perspective on the differences between the US and Ukraine. Lots of interesting comparisons that should be an eye-opener for a lot of "Maga" Americans (at least if they were open to changing their minds, haha).
The direction the US is taking right now feels like the fall of the Roman empire, which had everything and didn't know how to deal with that (please note I am really not a historian and this might be completely wrong)

As a Ukrainian journalist, I’ve covered the US for 20 years. I find it increasingly shocking
The long read: My country has been under occupation, dogged by corruption and war. Yet even I’ve been bewildered by the way the US seems to be fracturing

"The flu killed 15,849 U.S. soldiers in France and another 30,000 in stateside camps. That’s 45,849 killed by the flu versus 26,277 killed at Meuse-Argonne — documenting that the flu was by far our most deadly battle.
More civilians (over 50 million) died from the flu than from both World Wars and the Holocaust combined. Another 500 million civilians were incapacitated by the flu."

"Aviation experts said the wreckage pictured was in fact from a F-15E, from the US air force’s 494th squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK."
Let that sink in. Based in the UK, shot down on a raid in Iran.
One of two US crew members rescued after F-15E jet shot down over Iran | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian

A reminder that the the world is a very complex system, and "simple & obvious" solutions are rare. Even if they work very well for capital (at least for a while).
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/06/us-china-trump-trade…

A reminder that the the world is a very complex system, and "simple & obvious" solutions are rare. Even if they work very well for capital (at least for a while).
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/06/us-china-trump-trade…

The White House is seeking a record-shattering Pentagon budget of
$1.5 trillion for the next fiscal year,
the largest year-over-year increase in a presidential military spending request since World War II.
The United States already has the world’s largest military budget at roughly $1 trillion,
more than the combined budgets of the next nine highest-spending countries.
The budget proposal also includes deep cuts to social programs.
The Trump administrati…

“A Moral Obscenity”: White House Demands $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget, Largest Increase Since WWII
The White House is seeking a record-shattering Pentagon budget of $1.5 trillion for the next fiscal year, the largest year-over-year increase in a presidential military spending request since World War II. The United States already has the world’s largest military budget at roughly $1 trillion, more than the combined budgets of the next nine highest-spending countries. The Trump administration’s budget request includes funding for F-35 stealth fighter jets, new warships and President Trump�…

Sad news that Marjane Satrapi of Persepolis passed away. Very strange that the NYT did not mention that she died of sadness after her husband's death. Why?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/world/middleeast/marjane-satrapi-dead.html vs

Marjane Satrapi, the Author of ‘Persepolis,’ Dies at 56
Her popular graphic novel series, published in the early 2000s, followed an Iranian girl through the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.

RE: https://zirk.us/@ChrisMayLA6/116279696642883858
When is the world going to realise that the US isn’t at war just with Iran… It’s at war with the whole world.
What did you think “America first” meant?
They’re playing a zero-sum game so appeaseme…

Trump officials prepping for ‘nightmare scenario’ where oil hits $150-a-barrel - and unleashes more pain at the gas pump | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/oil-cost-iran-war-usa-trump-b2950191.html

Yup, the man is #desperate for a "birthday present" for himself and crow about it to sycophants and acolytes at the stupid #UFC event.
#Iran #agreement #birthday

Hashtag No King graffiti in the rubble
Seen on The GUARDIAN (URL below): An Iranian flag hangs amidst the rubble of a building at the Sharif University of Technology, which was damaged in a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
In the rubble, a piece of wall spray-painted with "#NOKING" (hashtag No King)
Photograph: Majid-Asgaripour/Reuters

Talks between the US and Iran appeared to have concluded for now,
Following several hours of talks in Pakistan that are aimed at ending the weeks-long war between Washington and Tehran.
Different Iranian media outlets, including Fars news agency and Tasnim news agency,
are reporting that “serious disagreements” remain
but at the suggestion of Pakistan, another round of talks will be held on Sunday morning.

#USPolitics #USPol #WhoCouldHaveSeenThisComing
Amazing what can happen in a week.
Ref:

From The Conversation
Israel wants to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. But should it have nuclear weapons itself?
Israel’s avowed goal in the Middle East war is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Yet, the double standard associated with this is hardly sustainable in the long run.
The worst-kept secret in the world of nuclear politics is that Israel possesses a formidable arsenal of nuclear weapons.

In January, behind closed doors at the Pentagon, Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre
— Pope Leo XIV’s then-ambassador to the United States
— and delivered a lecture.
“America,” Colby and his colleagues told the cardinal, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”
As tempers rose, one U.S. official reached for a fourteenth-century weapon and invoked the A…

The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV’s Ambassador With the Avignon Papacy
The Free Press has documented a closed-door Pentagon meeting in which a senior Trump official lectured Pope Leo XIV’s ambassador on American military supremacy.

Jesus. Spring Breakers have no actual idea who we’re at war with.
(courtesy of Pod Save the World)
https://youtube.com/@podsavetheworld

Trump approval sinks to new low (34%) as war with Iran drives cost-of-living concerns - https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-sinks-record-low-war-with-iran-drives-cost-of-living-concerns-2026-04-28/

"Since the war began on 2 March, #Israel has struck at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances across south #Lebanon, killing 40 healthcare workers and wounding 107, according to the Lebanese ministry of health."
Targetting of hospitals was also a feature of Israel's assault on

Czech president Petr Pavel warned that Donald Trump’s recent comments questioning the role of Nato have damaged the alliance’s credibility more than the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has done in several years.
Pavel, a retired Nato general and former chair of the Nato military committee, also said that Trump’s criticism of the alliance over the Iran war was “to put it mildly, unfair”.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Czech media outlet Seznam Zpršvy at the Charles Universi…

We are at war.
Gas prices are climbing above $5 per gallon across much of the country.
The political apparatus of the country is rife with division, infighting, and bureaucratic chaos that threatens to further upset 250 years of historical precedent. 
But look at Marco Rubio over there, getting his groove on.
DJ at a wedding! What a lovely time.
The secretary of state was pictured this weekend behind the turntables at a family wedding queuing up Calvin Harris’ …

Trump and His Cronies Are Partying as the World Burns
Donald Trump hosted a golf tournament at his private club and Marco Rubio played music and fist-pumped over the weekend amid the Iran war.

Darth #Trump, the dangerous jerk, is on the verge of losing his war against #Iran. His mad mindset will drive him to destroy whatever he declares as a military target on his withdrawal.
At the moment, Trump is the most dangerous risk for the world.
He did not make America great, he destroyed US America…

RE: https://mstdn.social/@scottmiller42/115880071275459284
There’s a lot of reasons to be opposed to USA war in Iran, but my conviction that any action we take will only leave the world in a worse place is at the top of my list. This administration is l…

The United States “can certainly do more damage to the Iranian economy,
but they have withstood more pressure than any other economy in history,
and that hasn’t produced the collapse of the regime or more reasonable positions,”
said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran specialist and director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution.
Iran is such an authoritarian state that the kind of political drivers that might push compromise don’t exist, she said,
wit…

Trump Looks for a Silver Bullet to End the Iran War. There May Be None.
The president is trying to ratchet up the economic pressure on Tehran, but Iran’s government is unlikely to make a deal without a big, face-saving compromise.

Fort Bliss "**consists of five massive tent structures on the site of a former World War II detention camp for Japanese Americans**. The facility has a maximum capacity of 5,000 people with each tent divided into windowless rooms, where as many as 72 detainees are held around the clock, save the one hour per day when they are taken outside, Morrison said."
Congresswoman details 'unbelievably inhumane conditions' at massive detention center - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ice-2676622143/

Republicans could and likely would vote to table any resolution to impeach Trump,
but that would represent a de facto endorsement of whatever war crimes Trump chooses to commit against Iran in the coming days,
and of the global economic fallout for Trump’s humiliating forfeiture of the Strait of Hormuz.
The least-worst way forward for both the U.S. and the world is for the war to end immediately.
That almost certainly can’t happen with an erratic president in offic…

Impeachment As A Referendum On The Iran Fiasco
Getting caught trying to stop Trump will do much more for Democrats' public image than fighting internally over whether to blacklist a podcaster. And, at some point, it might work.

Au Liban, Israël tue Š grande vitesse: The scale of killing amid Israel’s strikes on Lebanon is “horrific”, UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, has said - urging the international community to “bring an end to this nightmare”.
At least 112 people were killed and 837 more wounded on Wednesday, according to the latest Lebanese health ministry toll.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/08/iran-war-ceasefire-live-updates-trump-deadline-middle-east-crisis-latest-news?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

'Iran can be taken out in one night, and that might be tomorrow night,' says Trump
Trump repeats his usual claims about how well the war is going and how well the US military is doing (“unbelievably well”, he says),
and celebrates the “very historic” rescue of the second crew member of the US F-15 fighter jet downed over Iran last week.
Turning to his latest deadline for Tehran to open the strait of Hormuz (8pm ET on Tuesday), he adds:
"The entire country …

Another day, another hairpin turn in the world of Donald Trump’s foreign policy.
The weekend was all about war,
and Trump insisting Iran had not yet “paid a big enough price”.
Tuesday was Project Freedom,
styled as a grand “humanitarian gesture” to allow trapped ships and their crews to escape the Gulf,
but also aimed at weakening Iran’s chokehold on the strait of Hormuz.
By the early hours of Wednesday we were back to peace.
The president announced:…

There have always been reasons to criticise US foreign policy.
Yet in the past, many of us still looked with a certain envy at the strength of the country’s institutions,
the independence of its media,
and the willingness of its citizens to engage in democratic life.
Today, as Ukraine fights a war to defend its democracy
– to preserve a state where institutions serve the people rather than dictators,
where the press remains independent,
and where ci…

Doctor John Gartner,
the co-founder of “Duty To Warn”
noted Trump went to war on “impulse.”
He continued, Trump “didn’t bring along any allies, he didn’t prevent any evidence, he didn’t prepare the American people. He didn’t do anything.”
And the reason—per Dr. Gartner—is more alarming than you think.
It’s not just because Trump views himself as a king who doesn’t need to get his “subjects” (you and I) on board.
Rather, as Dr. Gartner opined, “He’s not th…

Trump’s dementia is a threat to the world-he must be removed from office!
Humanity is at risk

In a letter to the American people,
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian laid out the longstanding, historical grievances behind Tehran’s distrust of Washington,
with a turning point being the 1953 coup d’état, which he described as “an illegal American intervention aimed at preventing the nationalisation of Iran’s own resources”.
Relations before that “were not originally hostile, and early interactions between the Iranian and American people were not marred with hostility o…

The death toll from Thursday’s attack on the B1 bridge in Karaj, Iran, has risen to eight, up from two,
and 95 others were injured, Iranian state media reports.
Donald Trump earlier boasted about the attack,
warning Tehran there was “much more to follow”
and urged it to “make a deal before it is too late”.
⭐️Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the attack wouldn’t force Tehran to surrender.
“It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy…

Today, Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) announced her intent to introduce Articles of Impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth:
“Donald Trump’s deranged statements – including one on Easter Sunday – are further entrenching our country and our world in another devastating, never-ending war.
He’s threatening war crimes that violate U.S. law and the Geneva Convention, on top of illegal actions and atrocities already committed at his direction
–including violence …

Rep. Ansari: Impeach Pete Hegseth | U.S. House Representative Yassamin Ansari
The Official U.S. Congressional website of Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari

By day six, CSIS put the cumulative cost to the US of the Iran War at
$12.7 billion.
Today, it is likely to have exceeded
$18 billion – and the meter is still running.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/202…

The war is turning into the ultimate test of an operating principle that has guided Trump for decades: construct a narrative, declare it to be true and relentlessly force the world to submit to it. It has proved effective in Manhattan boardrooms, on reality television and even at the heart of power in Washington.
But in Iran, Trump’s unique brand of “truthful hyperbole” has collided with the truthful truth. His reality distortion field has run into a brick wall.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/30/trump-iran-war-reality?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

There is little doubt that Putin is entering the most challenging period of his long rule.
Interviews with several people in the orbit of the Russian leader, as well as sources in the Russian business world and western intelligence officials, paint a picture of
an isolated leader surrounded by an elite that is becoming rapidly disillusioned,
both with the faltering war in Ukraine and the economic downturn at home.
“There’s definitely been a shift in mood among the el…

The White House declined to estimate the cost of the war with Iran at a congressional hearing on Thursday,
prompting some Senate Democrats to criticize the Trump administration for its lack of transparency.
In a second appearance on Capitol Hill this week, Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, sidestepped questions about the price tag of the U.S.- and Israel-led conflict.
He said the “fluctuating” nature of the war made it hard to calculate either the expense…

White House Declines to Offer Congress an Estimate of Iran War Cost
Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, said the fluctuating nature of the U.S.-Israeli war made it difficult to pinpoint expenses.

⛔️Are fuel-related flight cancellations happening at the last minute?
In most cases, no.
At least for now, fuel-related cuts are often being made days or weeks in advance.
Lufthansa Group, for example, said this week it is cutting 20,000 short-haul flights across its network through October.
That gives you more time to adjust plans than you’d typically get with weather-related disruptions, which tend to trigger last-minute cancellations.
🆘 My flight was canceled.…

Flight canceled amid jet fuel shock? What travelers should know
Airlines around the world are canceling flights as the war in the Middle East squeezes global jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. But experts say the real challenge for travelers goes beyond the disruptions. Passenger rights vary widely depending on where you fly. The European Union and United Kingdom have some of the strongest protections for air travelers. The U.S. and Canada have consumer protection rules in place, but they tend to be more limited. Across the Asia-Pacific region, protect…

Wallpaper at Fraunces Tavern Museum in NYC depicting General Washington arriving in Boston. The full 49-foot, 32-panel, 360-color "Views of the American War of Independence" is still produced by Zuber & Cie (est. 1797) in Rixheim, France, using 2,300 (!) wood blocks carved between 1834 and 1852. It takes a full year to print and is likely the world's most expensive wallpaper ($100,000?). The blocks themselves are classified as Historic Monuments by the French Ministry of Culture. #france #history #art #nyc #newyork #museum #wallpaper #woodblock #boston #war #independence #250th

Iran has scoffed at reports that the US has put forward a ceasefire deal to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East,
insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves.
It follows reports that the Trump administrationsent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.

Donald Trump has maintained that talks to end the war are ongoing, claiming yesterday that Iran wanted a deal “so badly”.
Iran, however, had already dismissed the claim as “f…

I see no sign of any recognition from those who would want such a ban that they see any of the collateral damage a successful ban would have on the majority of kids who are not falling for this bullshit. That they are banning any good at all along with the bad.
Under 18s only
I see that the lobbying for these laws are funded by the absolute worst companies on the internet, those who will be entrenched by the legal compliance costs, that will cement themselves as the arbitrators of who is allowed to access the internet.
It’s a gift to Palantir and other surveillance companies. The very people running these algo-feeds are the ones who benefit from IDing every user and stalking them across the internet on their government-approved internet-licence IDs.
I don’t think even a successful ban on social media for kids would actually address the issue of kids being exposed to sexism and misogony or reduce the kids alienation and depression.
A ban can’t help, will make many things worse, won’t address the problem, and will make competing with the worst surveillance capitalists on the planet more difficult.
Going to war with every internet site and advice forum and making internet access harder won’t fix anything, and will have massive collateral damage against everyone seeking support from strangers or trying to learn things their parents won’t teach them.
But I see we are going to do it anyway.
The direction is clear.
Those companies do get what they lobby for, and they are lobbying hard for ID checks on every website, wrapping their desire to enclose the internet commons for themselves in a faux concern for children’s welfare.
And governments wish to monitor and control the internet, so they will pass these laws.
I wonder how many parents have a family group-chat that they’re going to accidentally ban their kids from using, not realizing that ‘social media’ might include Whatsapp? 😆
It won’t fix anything, it will make the situation for kids worse, impose costs and rents and hacks and exploits on all of us, and increase government and corporate power.
Many will lose access to their networks of support and help.
So it goes.
We will build a better more censorship resistant internet. It’s already here really: Briar. Matrix. Nostr. Bitchat. Veilid. Spritely. And the rest.
The laws may push us there faster.
The race will go on.

Iran has now repeatedly shown itself able to strike at U.S. aircraft in ways that should give Washington pause ahead of any further escalation of the war.
Iranian forces have hit a base in Saudi Arabia, striking two U.S. KC-135 aerial refueling planes and destroyed an American E-3 early warning detection system.
Iran has also been successfully shooting down Israeli and U.S. drones, some military analysts say.
With both sides perceiving themselves as at an advantage,
t…

Iran’s Downing of Fighter Jet and U.S. Rescue Leave Both Sides Dangerously Emboldened
After Iran shot down a U.S. plane and U.S. forces pulled off a risky ground operation to extricate a stranded airman, both sides claimed victory. That confidence could fuel further escalation.

Strikes by both sides on so-called upstream gas production facilities in recent days are a significant escalation in the war in the Middle East, with potentially long-term consequences.
The strikes were the first time facilities associated with the production of fossil fuel energy had been hit in the conflict,
rather than sites associated more generally with the oil and gas industry.
On Tuesday a successful Iranian drone attack resulted in operations at the Shah gasfield in…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pause attacks targeting Hezbollah
-- but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.
The truce, set to start at 5 p.m. Eastern time, could ease efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/…

Iran War Live Updates: Trump Announces Lebanon-Israel Cease-Fire
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pause attacks targeting Hezbollah but said Israeli troops would not withdraw. The truce, set to start at 5 p.m. Eastern time, could ease efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Trump drew a backlash on Sunday for suggesting US efforts to protect the Strait of Hormuz were unnecessary
– and that “maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all”
because his country has plenty of oil of its own.
The president made the contradictory comment to reporters on Air Force One
after pleading with European and Nato allies to enter the war in Iran to help the US secure the strait
amid the largest oil supply disruption in history.

Trump announced on Thursday that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon had agreed to begin a 10-day cease-fire at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
If it indeed takes effect, the cease-fire could remove a major hurdle to the broader peace talks with Iran.
https://www.nytimes.com/live…

Iran War Live Updates: Trump Announces Lebanon-Israel Cease-Fire
Lebanon’s prime minister said he welcomed the pause in Israel’s hostilities against Hezbollah, expected to start at 5 p.m. Eastern time, though Israel and Hezbollah did not immediately respond.

Not long after Donald Trump said the US was engaged in “strong talks” to bring the war with Iran to an end this week,
Qatar took the unusual step of distancing itself from the alleged diplomatic negotiations.
Qatar was not involved in any mediation efforts, said government spokesperson Majed al-Ansari at a briefing on Tuesday night,
before adding as a telling aside:
“If they exist.”
It signalled a notable break from Qatar’s historic and recurring position as chi…

“When there’s a supply disruption in the Middle East, that raises prices for every barrel of oil in the world,”
said Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability at M.I.T.
“Those price increases then trickle down to products that use oil, gasoline being the most relevant one.”
⚠️But isn’t the United States the world’s largest oil producer?
Yes, but not all American-produced oil can be easily used by American refiners.
The United States is a n…

America Is an Oil Exporter. Why Does a Mideast War Raise U.S. Gas Prices?
The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran have intensified and the conflict has widened, shaking global energy markets.

Pope Leo XIV has said that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain,
dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,”
Leo told a gathering at Saint Joseph Cathedral in western Cameroon.
“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation,
yet the resources need…

A ground operation by the US Marines headed to Iran likely would involve targeting Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles and deeply buried facilities — to locate, secure or disable nuclear material that cannot be destroyed from the air.
Although Donald Trump said the June 2025 U.S. strikes had "obliterated" key nuclear sites, analysts note that critical elements of Iran’s program
— particularly enriched uranium stockpiles and deeply buried facilities — likely remain intac…

Next US move on Iran: Seize Kharg Island, secure uranium or risk ground war escalation
Military analysts discuss three paths for U.S.-Iran conflict: capturing Iran's economic lifeline at Kharg Island, full invasion or securing nuclear sites.

Tump/Netanyahu war death toll


Iran: U.S.-based rights group HRANA said on Thursday that 3,186 people have been killed. It said 1,394 of those were civilians including at least 210 children.

Lebanon: Around 1,021 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities. The World Health Organization and Lebanese health authorities said more than 100 of those killed were children.

Iraq: At least 60 people have…

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect,
-- pausing fighting in the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,100 Lebanese people and displaced over 2.1 million.
The agreement was announced earlier by Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, and invited both leaders “for meaningful talks” at the White House.
Both leaders welcome…