Alain Pirot

🚨 Do you understand what Oracle just did.. they fired 30,000 people.. via 6 AM email.. while reporting a 95% increase in net income last quarter.. Oracle isn't a struggling company .. Oracle made MORE money than ever.. and still fired 30,000 people because they're spending $156 billion on AI data centres instead.. and Larry Ellison.. the guy who just fired 30,000 families.. is worth $200 billion.. the 3rd richest person on earth.. he owns an entire Hawaiian island.. Lanai.. 98% of it.. bought it for $300 million like it was a vacation home.. this is the same playbook every single time.. IBM fired 7,800 and replaced them with AI in 2023.. Amazon cut 27,000 the same year while reporting record revenue.. Atlassian cut thousands while profits climbed.. Google laid off 12,000 while sitting on $100 billion in cash.. they told you to learn to code.. you learned to code.. they told you to upskill.. you upskilled.. and then they replaced you with the thing you helped build and sent the termination letter before you woke up.. the company made record profits and decided the reward for that was firing the people who made it happen.

🚨🇪🇸 FLASH INFO Un tunnel géant équipé de rails et de wagons a été découvert entre le Maroc et l’Espagne pour acheminer du haschich Ce véritable labyrinthe souterrain à plusieurs niveaux était dissimulé sous un hangar à Ceuta et permettait de transporter la drogue jusqu’en Europe L’enquête, menée pendant plus d’un an, a permis l’arrestation de 27 personnes et la saisie de plus de 17 tonnes de drogue Lors des perquisitions, 1,4 million d’euros en liquide ainsi que 17 voitures de luxe ont été retrouvés Le tunnel était équipé d’un système d’insonorisation, de pompage, de rails, de wagons et même de grues pour déplacer les cargaisons (Les autorités espagnoles)

Zimbabweans lured to Russia’s War: Inside the deceptive recruitment network drawing civilians to the frontlines cite.org.zw/zimbabweans-lu…

Ukraine's interception rate continues improving 2025 • October: 79% • November: 84% • December: 81% 2026 • January: 83% • February: 87% • March: 90%

NEW!! U.S. confirms Belarus accession to Board of Peace charter 👇

President Zelenskyy: From January 1 to March 26, they [Russians] lost 89,000 personnel - killed and seriously wounded. In other words, we are talking about irrecoverable losses. This is a very significant figure. I also looked at their mobilization figures. They planned to mobilize 409,000 people for 2026, and as of March, they have reached only about 20-22% of that - roughly 80,000. They have lost more than they have mobilized. This is an important signal.

‼️🇺🇦🇷🇺 🚨🚨🚨 La mobilisation en Russie a officiellement commencé...👀👀👀⬇️ Les entreprises russes ont commencé à recevoir des ordres de recrutement d'employés pour la guerre. La première a été la région de Ryazan : le gouverneur a signé un décret obligeant toutes les organisations de la région à fournir entre 2 et 5 contractuels dans les six prochains mois. Selon les chercheurs de CIT, de telles pratiques peuvent exister secrètement dans les régions, mais ils rencontrent pour la première fois un document officiel sur le recrutement.

The US appears to be deploying a pair of brand new, highly advanced EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft to the Middle East. The Compass Call's primary role is degrading, denying, and disrupting adversary communications at the theater level.

A wider view: 17 sanctioned Shadow Fleet vessels are currently sailing in and around UK waters. An additional two sanctioned Russian-flagged tankers are also present. While Moscow's illicit ships continue to pass through the Channel, some are avoiding UK waters and taking the longer route around the North of Scotland. Plenty of targets for the UK to test its bold rhetoric against. h/t @StarboardIntel

France is rewriting its war playbook using lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East, the French air force's deputy chief told @POLITICOEurope Both conflicts are shaping imminent decisions on what weapons Paris will develop, buy and deploy. politico.eu/article/how-th…

JUST IN: Two hundred helium containers are stranded in the Persian Gulf right now. Each one holds 41,000 litres of liquid helium cooled to minus 269 degrees Celsius. They have 35 to 48 days before the cryogenic systems fail, the helium boils off, and the gas vents into the atmosphere and is lost forever. Those containers were heading to semiconductor fabrication plants in Taiwan and South Korea that manufacture 90 percent of the world’s advanced chips. The helium inside them cools the extreme ultraviolet lithography machines that print transistors at two nanometres. Without it, the machines cannot operate. Without the machines, the chips do not exist. Without the chips, the AI models that are currently selecting targets in this war stop running. This is the connection that nobody has made. The same Strait of Hormuz that carries 20 percent of the world’s oil also carries the helium that cools the machines that make the chips that power the artificial intelligence that the Pentagon is using to prosecute Operation Epic Fury. Maven, the AI targeting system that compressed 2,000 analysts to 20 and selected over 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, runs on processors manufactured by TSMC using helium sourced from Qatar. Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility, which produced 33 percent of the world’s helium as a byproduct of LNG processing, was struck by Iranian missiles on March 18 and 19 and declared force majeure. The supply is offline. The containers are stranded. The clock is ticking at minus 269 degrees. TSMC says it has 6.2 weeks of inventory and 68 to 95 percent on-site recycling. Samsung holds roughly six months but depends on Qatar for 65 percent of its supply. Both are rationing toward AI and high-bandwidth memory production, starving consumer chips to keep the advanced nodes alive. The calculus is explicit: the war gets priority over your next phone. But here is the paradox that should terrify every strategist in Washington. The AI that selects the targets requires chips that require helium that transits the chokepoint that the war has closed. The cognitive infrastructure of the air campaign depends on a supply chain that the air campaign is destroying. Every strike on Iranian naval assets that keeps Hormuz closed for another day is another day of helium inventory burned at TSMC. Every week the strait stays shut brings the fab closer to rationing. Every month of war brings the AI targeting system closer to the moment when the chips it runs on cannot be replaced because the gas that made them evaporated in a container floating off Fujairah. The Pentagon is fighting a war with artificial intelligence manufactured in Taiwan using helium from Qatar transported through the strait the war has closed. The war is eating its own brain. Taiwan imports 95 percent of its energy. Seventy percent of its oil came through Hormuz. TSMC alone consumes 10 percent of Taiwan’s electricity. The island that makes 90 percent of the world’s advanced semiconductors is powered by fuel from the chokepoint that is shut, cooled by gas from the facility that is offline, and defended by interceptors depleting faster than they can be replaced. And the country that controls the rare earth magnets, the BeiDou navigation, the helium alternative sources, and the peace talks is the same country: China. The war will end when the helium runs out, when the interceptors run out, or when Beijing decides it should. All three clocks are ticking. All three lead to the same room. Read the full analysis - open.substack.com/pub/shanakaans…

La progression des tirs balistiques iraniens se poursuit, 43 hier contre 40 la veille. Au temps pour l'objectif n°3 annoncé hier par Macro Rubio (une diminution sévère des tirs de missiles).

Tsahal a mis en joue le chef d’Etat-Major français de la FINUL, a ouvert le feu contre des véhicules français (dont l’un a été touché). Israël mesure-t-elle les conséquences s’il devait tuer des militaires français ?

Why Invading and Occupying Kharg Island Is a Stupid Idea Kharg Island isn’t a place you can just storm, plant a flag, and hold. It’s a tiny coral outcrop,  roughly 8 km long and 5–6 km wide, with a total area of only about 25 km², sitting just 25 km off the Iranian coast and 45-50 km from the Zagros Mountains. That extreme closeness turns it into a nightmare. Beneath the surface lies a vast network of reinforced tunnels dug 20-40 meters deep into coralline limestone. In hard granite, explosions send shockwaves far and wide, cracking everything. In porous limestone, though, the blast energy dissipates quickly by crushing the rock’s own pores around the impact point, protecting deeper fortifications. Satellite images from the last decade of naval base and terminal expansions show concrete plants and shipments of quartz and fine aggregates, clear signs of high-strength concrete being poured for these bunkers. The island is heavily mined, guarded by troops in underground positions, overlooked by mountain firing points, and surrounded by hundreds of Iranian missile-armed vessels. Iranian fragmentation warheads, like those on Shahed-131 and 136 drones, scatter 3,000 to 7,000 pre-formed tungsten fragments,  lethal against unarmored troops. Any garrison crammed onto such a small island would face wave after wave of missiles and drones every day. Survival would come at horrific cost. The Iranian defenders would remain safe inside tunnels with dozens of exits spread across the island. Hundreds of troops, many special forces who know every corner of the terrain, could hold out for days or weeks, launching ambushes like those seen in Gaza. Attacking troops would have almost no safe shelter. The only significant infrastructure is the oil refining and storage facilities, and Iranian tunnel exits and fortifications almost certainly reach into or near them. I can’t imagine special forces with limited or no supplies trading fire in the middle of fuel tanks and pipelines. That’s not combat, it’s insanity. There’s no secure supply route by sea, and the airspace would be fiercely contested, making air resupply extremely dangerous. Even if supplies got through, there’s nowhere safe to store or protect them outside the refining areas. Suppose a landing somehow succeeded by air. Beyond the hundreds of Iranian special forces in the tunnels, the threats would pile up fast: By sea
Iran has over 800 fast attack boats (Ashura, Seraj, and Ra’ad classes) fitted with 107mm rocket launchers in 12-tube pods. Just 80 of them could unleash 960 rockets in one salvo against the tiny island, many carrying Fajr-1 fragmentation warheads with an 8–12 km range. 
Some Zulfiqar-class boats carry two canisters for the Fath-360 ballistic missile (120 km range) loaded with cluster munitions and anti-personnel tungsten. At least 30-40 of these boats likely have that setup. 
Tondar-class boats with 23mm cannons could rake the island at night-Iran still operates around 10 of them.
Even with many larger warships damaged, Iran keeps at least 25 smaller, well-armed patrol vessels active. From the mainland
Iran can strike with at least five types of ballistic ranging 85-200 km. Systems like the Ababil and Fath-360 launch in pods of 6–8 missiles per salvo, often with anti-personnel cluster munitions and tungsten fragments. 
Heavy rockets such as the Zelzal-1 and Zelzal-2 with 150–200 km range, 600 kg warheads, have started receiving guidance kits, now with 50m CEP. By air
Iran operates more than 10 models of kamikaze and attack drones with modern day/night sensors. These can deliver repeated strikes, dropping bombs multiple times a day by models like the GAZA. A landing might be possible with massive air and naval superiority, but actually holding the island would be nearly impossible. In the best case, you’d destroy much of the oil infrastructure during the fight. In reality, it would likely turn into a massacre. Join my Substack: @global21" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@global21

When the whole world learned about Bucha. About Ukrainians butchered in the streets of Bucha by Russian occupiers. About our people tortured in basements. About those shot on the roads. About adults and children whose bodies were found in graves in Bucha. Everyone saw the horror that Russia and its aggression bring. They saw what Ukraine is really defending itself against. Today, on the fourth anniversary of Bucha’s liberation from Russian occupiers, we honored the memory of Ukrainians who were killed and tortured there. We remember and will never forget what the enemy did. Every Russian murderer, executioner, and terrorist must be held accountable for every crime against our people. Blessed be the memory of everyone whose lives were taken by Russia – to all who were killed in Bucha and across Ukraine at the hands of Russian occupiers.

My war, your Hormuz problem: “..: President Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, administration officials said…” — @WSJ wsj.com/world/middle-e…

Le secrétaire d'État américain Marco Rubio, au nom de Donald Trump, a exprimé son regret que les autorités saoudiennes aient signé des accords de défense avec l'Ukraine sans consulter les États-Unis, principal allié de l'Arabie saoudite. Le prince héritier saoudien Mohammed ben Salmane a fait remarquer que les États-Unis n'avaient pas réussi à protéger pleinement le Royaume des frappes iraniennes, et donc que l'Arabie saoudite avait pris une décision susceptible de renforcer rapidement ses capacités de défense. Le prince héritier a également déclaré que son pays continuerait à prendre en compte ses propres intérêts nationaux lors de toute décision concernant sa défense. Les remarques imprudentes et irresponsables de Trump ont mis en pause les relations entre les États-Unis et l'Arabie saoudite. Le prince héritier saoudien s'est révélé plus diplomate que le président américain et, par exemple n'a pas répondu à Rubio en disant que Trump devrait "venir lui embrasser les fesses" et se comporter poliment envers lui à l'avenir. #TrumpEstUnImbécile

“I’m always at your service”: leaked calls between Lavrov and Hungary’s FM Recordings of conversations between Sergey Lavrov and Péter Szijjártó suggest the Hungarian minister was willing to advance Moscow’s interests within the EU. In one call, Lavrov asks for sanctions on oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s sister to be lifted — Szijjártó responds that Hungary, together with Slovakia, is already preparing a proposal. She was later removed from the EU sanctions list. Before ending the call, Szijjártó also mentioned visiting Gazprom’s new headquarters and added: “I’m always at your service.” According to European intelligence officials, the tone of the exchanges resembles that of a “handler and source” rather than two equal officials. There have also been previous reports that Hungary shared details of closed EU discussions with Moscow.

Ancien commandant du CENTCOM, le général Frank McKenzie rappelle une réalité assez simple mais souvent oubliée : ces scénarios d’opérations terrestres en Iran ne sont pas improvisés, ils existent depuis des années. On parle ici de raids, de prises ponctuelles de positions sur la côte sud, avec une logique très américaine : frapper vite, créer un effet stratégique, puis se retirer — pas d’occupation. L’exemple de Kharg Island est particulièrement parlant. La prendre, ce n’est pas seulement un symbole, c’est potentiellement couper une grande partie de l’économie pétrolière iranienne… sans détruire les infrastructures, donc en gardant un levier énorme dans la négociation derrière. Dans le même temps, le déploiement du USS Tripoli (LHA-7) et de milliers de Marines dans la zone montre bien que ces options sont crédibles, pas juste théoriques. Mais McKenzie lui-même reste prudent : pour lui, une “victoire” réaliste, ce n’est pas une invasion, c’est maintenir le détroit d’Ormuz ouvert et arracher des concessions sur le nucléaire et les missiles. On retrouve donc quelque chose de très classique : l’outil militaire est prêt, calibré, pensé dans les détails. La vraie incertitude, elle est politique. Jusqu’où Donald Trump est prêt à aller — et surtout, est-ce que cela sert vraiment une stratégie, ou juste une escalade. thehill.com/policy/defense…

An investigative report has emerged by a Russian opposition journalist Rostislav Murzagulov. It alleges that Putin may have provided Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán with a covert "bribe" in the form of an automotive component plant and a mansion near Moscow. Russian opposition journalist Rostislav Murzagulov said on his YouTube channel that he had obtained a set of documents detailing the mechanism of this alleged hidden "bribe" from Putin to the Hungarian prime minister. According to him, the assets in question include a world-class automotive component plant and a luxury estate in the Moscow region. The journalist also stated that he is ready to hand over the original documents to relevant authorities and journalists in European countries. What this is about, as Murzagulov states in his investigation: In 2014, Orbán ceremonially opened a Takata automotive component plant in Miskolc, Hungary. The company promised to invest $1.5 billion into the Hungarian budget, and the government allocated tens of millions of euros from the state budget to support the project. However, Takata was already in crisis at the time. Its airbags were defective - they could explode, sending metal fragments into car interiors, and killed several dozen people. More than 100 million vehicles worldwide equipped with Takata products were subject to the largest recall in automotive history. By 2018, Takata had gone bankrupt. All of its assets - 20 factories worldwide - were acquired by a group of private investors, some of whom were linked to Hungary. At the time, Takata’s assets were valued at $1.6 billion, which was considered very low given that the company had generated $6-7 billion annually prior to its collapse. The new owners then faced a major challenge: what to do with products from a plant with a damaged reputation. The solution, according to the documents obtained by the journalist, was found in Russia. Major Russian automakers reportedly signed long-term contracts with the new Takata owners. According to Murzagulov, only a direct order from the Kremlin could have compelled the entire Russian automotive industry to purchase such defective airbags. In effect, Russia’s auto industry allegedly financed the acquisition of the plant for a structure linked to Orbán. The journalist claims that the ultimate beneficiary of the scheme is Hungary’s richest man, Lőrinc Mészáros (estimated net worth $3.5 billion), who, "coincidentally," is a childhood friend of Orbán. Companies linked to Mészáros were involved both in the construction of the Takata plant in Hungary in 2014 and later in the acquisition of its global assets. According to the investigation, funds obtained through this Russian scheme were allegedly used to purchase a mansion for Orbán in the elite Greenfield settlement near Moscow. The estate reportedly spans 7,000 square meters and is valued at $89 million. Another notable detail: representatives of Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO) recently removed the owner’s name of the property from official databases. This is seen by the journalist as indirect evidence that the property belongs not to an ordinary businessman, but to an individual whose identity is classified.