petehw1

Is this how children should live? Israel has destroyed Gaza’s water infrastructure, leaving countless people without access to clean water. Children are now fighting a daily battle for survival. The sight of children chasing water tankers for a single sip of clean water has become one of the clearest and most heartbreaking images of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding before the world.

Students from the Colin Powell School at City College of New York heckled Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the former US ambassador to the UN during the Biden administration, at their graduation ceremony on Thursday

Trump claims his strikes haven't really hurt the Iranian military: "We've actually left their military alone. People would be surprised to hear that."

Bessent on Iran: We have seized about $1 billion of Iran's crypto — just outright grabbed the wallets. Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize their wallet has been grabbed. This is money that's stolen from the Iranian people.

BREAKING: IRAN HAS BEGUN TRANSPORTING LNG AND OIL TO CHINA BY RAILWAY Pakistan is also beginning to import LNG via Iran using the Silk Road railway - Fars News

All created by the British Empire, the original evil

BREAKING: Iran has rejected the US demands to surrender its enriched uranium stockpiles under any circumstances, even if signing the MOU and entering the 60-day negotiation window, with no nuclear discussions being held in that or after that window and no change expected to Iran's nuclear posture, per NYT. This comes as a faction within Iran's leadership holding Supreme National Security Council representation is now actively working to block any deal with the US regardless of terms due to the excessive demands, per WSJ.

Economic Warfare is a strong weapon that the United States has within its arsenal. Blockades, sanctions, tariffs, export controls... all of these, when combined with the massive economy and financial dominance of the United States of America, are generally effective. As a TOOL. Not as a primary strategy. In Russia, economic warfare has been heavily employed as a means to damage the Russian economy, and they have worked exceptionally well. If you understand that they are not a PRIMARY strategy to conduct warfare. This was one of the key issues and messaging failures when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 (2014, to be clear). Many indicated, with eerie similarities to Iran, that the economic devastation would be so bad, so catastrophic, that the public would rise up and topple Putin. His inner circle would turn on him. Their war machine would collapse. It never happened. In North Korea, economic warfare - particularly with export controls and sanctions - have been exceptionally effective in damaging the North Korean economy and their ability to advance their weapons programs. But it's a tool. It's not an entire strategy. Workarounds are created. Front companies are spun up. Sanctions-evasion networks, money laundering structures, and fraud schemes are developed to bring in new revenues to the Hermit Kingdom. But Kim Jong Un? Still in power. In Cuba, a country that is in the headlines as they once again fall under the dark gaze of Washington, has been heavily damaged as a result of embargoes, blockades, and sanctions. Their energy infrastructure is woefully outdated, leading to the blackouts common to the island now. Their most important export for many years? Their doctors to Venezuela. Living in Cuba is like stepping back an entire century. And yet... they still stand. With Iran, we see the limitations of economic warfare play out in the most disastrous of ways perhaps in human history. The blockade, implemented to a large degree on the concept that within "13 days", Iran would run out of oil storage, be forced to shut-in their oil wells, and they would see catastrophic and irreversible damage. We were told they would experience hyperinflation. Demented and disgusting analysis was put force that the blockade would lead to mass starvation as a result of grain shortages. The sanctions, we were told, would be "maximum pressure". All in. They couldn't possibly survive this economy constriction. And yet... Iran is still standing. This is one of, and perhaps the most consequential, strategy flaw of the entire Iran War... save for allowing Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz in the first place. Washington bought into the pipe dream that economic warfare could be used as a primary strategy. It can't, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling snake oil. That doesn't mean economic warfare does not WORK. That does not mean sanctions are "ineffective". That does not mean blockades cannot be part of the larger picture. But Washington bought into the fantasy that Iran, a country under economic warfare for DECADES, would fall into anarchy in a few short weeks. They were led to believe that, despite sitting on once in a lifetime leverage with their control of the Strait of Hormuz, in an existential war for their existence against the Great and Little Satan, would capitulate. Cry Uncle. Give up. And THAT is where the Iran War really fell off a cliff. Over the past 47 days, Iran has grown stronger. Not weaker. They have been able to harden their defenses. Able to dig out their missile launch systems from underneath rubble. Restock on their Shahed drones... all while the United States and global economy takes the most pain. Economic warfare, when truly understood, is a valuable tool in the overall toolkit of the United States of America. Sanctions work (but have side effects). Blockades work (but have side effects). Export controls work (but have side effects). Unfortunately, the grim reality is that the White House was sold economic warfare strategies from those who did not understand them at a fundamental level. Who tortured data to fit a predetermined end conclusion. Who lacked basic understanding of energy infrastructure at the core of their strategy. Donald Trump was sold snake oil in the economic warfare campaign, he poured it into a chalice, and drank the venom down to the last drop. Now, the United States has lost. Iran holds all the cards. And there's not a damn thing President Trump can do to fix it.

The only solution to the Ukraine problem. Keeps everyone happy, keeps the Banderites in check.

🇺🇦🇷🇺🇧🇾🇪🇺 Zelensky is warning that Russia could use Belarus as the launchpad for its next major escalation. The geography is what makes it dangerous. From Belarus, Russian forces could threaten Kyiv from the north, pressure Poland, and put the Suwalki Gap, NATO's narrow land link to the Baltics, under pressure. The concern is that troops, missiles, and drones could be moved into Belarus under the cover of military exercises before any attack begins. The goal may not be a full-scale invasion. It may be forcing NATO to defend multiple fronts at once. One border crossing in the wrong direction could change the entire conflict. Source: wallstreetresearchcenter (Youtube)

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Trump blockaded Iranian ports nearly 2 months ago. 150 million barrels of Iranian oil are still floating at sea right now. Here's how Iran keeps the money flowing: The shadow fleet runs on 3 things: aging tankers with no traceable ownership, AIS transponders that lie about location, and fake paperwork that makes Iranian crude look like it came from somewhere else entirely. Ship-to-ship transfers near Malaysia move up to 2 million barrels in a single operation. By the time the oil reaches a Chinese refinery, it's been laundered through enough middlemen that sanctions can't touch it. Over 120 tankers have been tracked laden with Iranian oil since the war began. The buyers are mostly Chinese. The revenue runs into the billions. This is the core problem with sanctions as a pressure tool: you can lock down ports, but you can't lock down the open ocean. Iran built this system over years of U.S. and EU pressure. Source: WSJ (Youtube)