Amit P

There once was a girl from Purdue Who kept a young cat in a pew She taught it to speak Alphabetical Greek But it never got farther than ... (author: @DrMRFrancis )

The United States is so toxic on the world stage right now that it can’t fill hotels or sell World Cup tickets. Let that land. FIFA projected $30.5 billion in economic impact from millions of international visitors. That demand never showed up. Hotels in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco have slashed match-day rates by a third from their peak. FIFA has cancelled tens of thousands of reserved rooms across all 16 host cities. Some hotels report cancellation rates above 95%. The reasons aren’t hard to find. Anti-American sentiment. Fear of border crossings. The Iran war driving up oil prices and airfares. And tickets priced into the stratosphere, with finals seats hitting $10,990 a pop. Industry executives are now openly blaming the Trump administration for the shortfall. Tourism economists say the Iran war made an already bad sentiment problem worse. Empty stadiums are now a real possibility. It happened at the Club World Cup last summer. It could happen again, on American soil, at the biggest sporting event on the planet. The White House says this will be “the greatest World Cup ever.” The market disagrees. Gandalv / @Microinteracti1

House Democrats unveiled articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, making serious allegations about his handling of the war in Iran and his leadership more broadly. cbsn.ws/4mzruLQ

Iran has condemned a ban imposed by YouTube on a pro-Iranian group that releases Lego-style AI videos. But as war messaging moves into memes and entertainment formats, Al Jazeera’s Ava Warriner looks at which side may be gaining the most traction.

Putin will ‘definitely’ attend BRICS summit in India, says Kremlin: Report hindustantimes.com/india-news/put…

"🇨🇳 China strongly rebukes Trump" "I want to put an end to the rumors circulating online that claim China has agreed with the United States not to supply weapons to Iran. Let me make it clear that no such communication has taken place. China has neither confirmed nor denied supplying weapons to Iran. Our security agreements and defense cooperation are sovereign matters that belong to China alone. No foreign country has the right to interfere in China's internal affairs. World leaders should choose their words carefully before speaking. China welcomes President Trump’s decision to de-escalate and open the Strait of Hormuz. We are committed to global peace and protecting regional stability through dialogue." — Guo Jiakun, Spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Trump Complains He’s Being Crucified For Comparing Himself To Jesus buff.ly/VxddB1N

Trump bragged he graduated top of his class at Wharton… There were 366 students. He finished… wait for it… 364th. 😂

Another real banger from the Iranians, no lies detected.

🚨The ceasefire may just be the calm before a massive storm. ⚠️ I have confirmed from two separate military sources that the U.S. is preparing for a "massive, huge, concentrated bombing campaign" the moment the current lull ends. Despite talks of a negotiated settlement, physical evidence shows we are "massing forces in the region" during the seventh week of this Iran war - and by all accounts, Iran is likewise playing this same game, building up and restocking its war machine for the next round. Ground sources and aerial resupply data indicate "something really big is coming," indicating the U.S. strategy is shifting toward major escalation in the hopes that a risk-it-all big strike can force Iran to do what the first six weeks of war didn't: give up and give in to Trump's demands. Don't be misled by the headlines, the buildup on the ground tells a much more urgent story, but here's what you need to know: it won't matter. A big surge of missile power will only blow up a lot of things on the surface in Iran, but it won't be enough to coerce a population into submission. It will only add to the cost of our eventual strategic defeat. Watch the full, high-stakes breakdown on Daniel Davis Deep Dive. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/danieldavi… 👉 #IranWar #USStrategy #MiddleEastConflict #NationalSecurity #Geopolitics #MilitaryIntelligence #BreakingNews #DanielDavisDeepDive #ForeignPolicy #Defense

This has finished me off 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: They call us terrorists, but they are the real terrorists. They slaughter anyone, anywhere, whenever they want, and then they speak about human rights. Shame on them.

Russian LNG under US sanctions heads for the first time to India economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energ…

Trump's rift with Pope is playing out in public - it's costing him valuable support bbc.in/3QFUoOh

Belgium seizes arms shipment sent from Britain to Israel Brussels has banned aircraft carrying military equipment for Israel from stopping in the country or using its airspace

@DougAMacgregor IMO the treaty should be revised to acknowledge 21st century geopolitics / power dynamics and probably renamed to something like - Euro-Atlantic Security Alliance (EASA)

Europe draws up plan for a NATO without the United States.

Mexico's Defense Secretary says 20% of the weapons seized from cartels are of Israeli origin, and the other 80% from the US.

FT Exclusive: Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite that gave the Islamic republic a powerful new capability to target US military bases across the Middle East during the recent war. ft.trib.al/7ZEV9AS

When you close the Strait then open it again

UPDATE: All Republicans but one vote to block war powers resolution in US Senate 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.news/lxeq57?update=…