What does this war of aggression have anything to do with “our freedom”?
11.03.2026 05:09
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What does this war of aggression have anything to do with “our freedom”?
Travellers have rushed to call off holidays in the region, with more than 80,000 short-term rental bookings in Dubai alone cancelled in the week to March 6. ft.trib.al/Lr56f73
Is the Trump administration just trying to pull our leg, or does it really have an incredibly dramatic poor sense of timing?
Strait of Hormuz, 2026-03-10 (14:16 UTC)
AIS data vs SAR imagery
#OOTT #Iran #Tankers
A large part of the reason why the US Navy has been able to get away with underinvesting in MCM is... NATO.
The sharing of capabilities meant that the US could leave MCM to European allies, who became rather good at it.
This didn't take into account the US fighting a dumbass war, w/o NATO.
And our minesweeper situation isn’t
any better than when Trump ranted incoherently about it in 1987, it seems
bsky.app/profile/seea...
In '91, the Royal Navy led mine clearing efforts in the Gulf because the US didn't have sufficient capability. Fortunately, in the last 35 years, the US Navy has... ah.
🔵 Democrats flip another seat in the New Hampshire State House.
Democrat Bobbi Boudman wins a special election in a Trump+9 district, after losing the same seat by 14 points in 2024. A 13-point Democratic overperformance.
Our analysis, which shows that more women nearly bled to death during miscarriage after Texas banned abortion, adds to a growing body of reporting revealing that maternal outcomes have gotten worse under bans.
(Published July 2025)
The law of unintended consequences rules.
It was war risk insurance that locked up the ships last week. The Navy had to demonstrate that the Strait was open this week. We have some stray ships running it now, but once you throw mines into the equation, everyone will hold until there are assurances it is clear.
What has caused the most damage to the US Navy since WWII? MINES!
More importantly, for commercial shipping, this threat will keep them in port, inside the Strait of Hormuz, and prevent any ship from running it, without the Navy first demonstrating it is cleared.
Everyone, there is no need to panic about mines.
The Navy has kept four mine countermeasure vessels in the Persian Gulf for the past 35 years.
WAIT...what is that?
The minesweepers just arrived in the US to be decommissioned, but we have 3 Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) that took their place.
"But they haven't told Trump."
One thing I've been stressing is that, if Hormuz traffic remained stopped, the monumental oil supply shock will manifest as sharp price spikes in wealthy nations that sap disposable incomes
In poorer countries, the shock will manifest as outright physical shortages.
Murphy: "Literally in my other ear I'm listening to Ted Cruz on another network explain why this mission is so essential to destroy the nuclear program. I may have to walk over there and tell him the admin is now briefing that getting rid of the nuclear program has nothing to do with this mission."
Mmmm, yes, very deep, much philosophical wow, let me counter with:
The people building concentration camps will always be my enemy
The only people demanding to impose religion-based laws in the United States are Christian Nationalists like Mike Johnson.
You can judge a family by the company it keeps.
Some good news.
NEWS: Democrat Shawn Harris has forced a runoff in the special election for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s deep-red Georgia seat (Trump +37).
With ~70% in, Harris leads with 38.3% to Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller’s 34.5%.
Runoff set for April 7. A major warning sign for MAGA.
The remains of a World War II soldier from Connecticut who went missing in 1944 while fighting in northern Italy have been identified and reburied at Arlington National Cemetery.
Trump advisor: Congress does not have a constitutional role in the declaration of war.
Klein: I will quote the Constitution. ‘The Congress shall have power to declare war.’ It is Congress that has the power to declare war.
Trump advisor: S-so… The issue has to do with what was meant by ‘declare’…
The Venice Biennale is facing broad condemnation for its decision to let Russia participate for the first time since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with countries calling on the art festival to reconsider the move and the EU threatening to pull funding.
www.politico.eu/article/eu-f...
ICE says these new detention warehouses are for the “worst of the worst.”
We also know only less than 14% of people ICE detained last year are violent criminals.
Because $$$ seems to be the data point that gets average Americans to care, let’s talk about the economics of concentration camps.
US watching a movie where a vigilante’s entire family is wiped out: “Oh yeah, time for fucking vengeance, this dude will never stop. Get them!”
US watching Iran pick a Supreme Leader who just had his entire family wiped out: “This guy is plainly going to be reasonable and fold.”
The ICE detention center purchases appear to be money laundering:
This sounds bad
Trump promised these Navy escorts "if needed." He promised this ... yesterday. youtu.be/ed2xOwmHZl0?...
