Invictus

Vance suggests Iran could have used nuclear suicide vests: “You talk about people who walk into a crowded supermarket and have a vest on, and they blow up the vest and a couple of people get killed, and that's a terrible tragedy. What happens when what's on the vest is not something that can kill a couple of people, but can kill many, many tens of thousands of people?”

I have always been a firm believer in educating daughters. Today, I read a blog about a Pashtun woman whose husband took a second wife. She left her husband’s home with her three children and instead of returning to her father’s house, she rented a small place and started teaching, making use of her education. Today, her children are in high school and doing well. This is why girls must not only be given a good education, but also encouraged to use it. Education becomes truly meaningful when it enables a woman to stand on her own feet with dignity and confidence.

The Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by me and the Ayatollah😎😁

PAKISTAN IS THE COUNTRY OF THE HOUR FIELD MARTIAL ASIM MUNIR IS THE LEADER OF THE HOUR Pakistan is positioning itself as the lead mediator trying to broker an end to the US’s and Israel’s war against Iran, using its military strongman’s ties to Tehran and warm relationship with Donald Trump. Army chief Asim Munir spoke with Trump on Sunday, according to two people briefed on the call, while Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday. The conversation between the Pakistani and Iranian leaders came at around the same time as Trump announced that he was delaying his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants after “very good and productive” conversations with Tehran to end the war. It was not clear if Pakistan’s mediation push and Trump’s post on his Truth Social social media platform, which caused oil prices to fall sharply, were related. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump negotiations. “These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the news media,” the White House said. Turkey, which was involved in mediation efforts before the war, has also been talking to Iranian officials and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. Pakistan’s foreign minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar held talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday. Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty also spoke to his Iranian and Pakistani counterparts on Sunday, as well as Witkoff and Qatar’s foreign minister.

Am I the only one who found the Economist cover a bit melodramatic and jumping the gun? Israel still has full US backing and other countries and is not under nearly enough pressure to stop the war. You know who is alone? Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem

Pakistan was getting 8 LNG cargoes from Qatar every month. 6 from a deal made in 2016 and 2 from a deal made in 2020. The deal made in 2016 is due for renegotiation this year. It is now quite clear we aren’t going to get any more cargoes from Qatar for a few months and the 6 cargo deal will not be renewed. How will or should we deal with this shortage. 1. The biggest help in dealing with the lack of LNG will come from solar power installed by industrial and domestic consumers across Pakistan. While the Shehbaz Sharif government has been trying very hard to disincentivise solar power across Pakistan, it hasn’t succeeded and it is this solar power that is going to be Pakistan’s saviour. 2. Pakistan has already started curtailing gas to the (much pampered and favoured) fertiliser industry. It might even be needed to curtail some gas to commercial enterprises like restaurants & hotels (excluding tandoors and dhabas), and even some upscale domestic users. 3. Pakistan should now run its coal plants and not give any gas to power plants. We have the curse of excess capacity: we either have to keep idle and pay capacity payments to gas plants or to coal plants. We should now run the coal plants and keep idle gas plants. 4. This govt has made gas to industry that choose to, or are forced to, make their own power prohibitively expensive. This has resulted in many opting for solar, wind and biomass power. This has further decreased reliance on grid. But now with gas shortage, the govt should ensure continuous supply to industry of power and of process gas. 5. Had the govt in the last two years of cheap oil and gas made some basic reforms, worked on privatisation, introduced competition by giving Third Party Access, reduced gas theft and losses, rationalised prices and stopped giving subsidies to its favoured lobbies, Pakistan would have been in a much better position to face the coming crisis. But given this incompetent and timid government, the decisions of consumers to not rely on government and install their own solar, wind and biomass power will be out saving grace.

Tucker is violating human rights by using a disproportionate amount of intelligence against the Economist host that’s interviewing him.

I saw this at the Financial Times. British establishment journalists have been indoctrinated—starting young at elite private schools—with the views needed to oversee the propaganda system Many have literally never had an independent thought. What they do is spout received wisdom So when someone probes one of their ideas it falls apart because they’ve learnt it by rote - there has been no conscious processing of information. They believe something, but don’t know why. They’ve just heard some authority say it The top echelons of British journalism industry are, consequently, some of the most unimpressive people on the planet. Anyone capable of independent thought - and critical analysis outside the confines of establishment shibboleths - is filtered out very early

I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country