Sandgropper

@tparsi I can't see that going down too well with Mr Bonesaw.

Trump: "He [Saudi Arabia's MBS] didn't think he'd be kissing my ass... But now he has to be nice to me. You tell him he'd better be nice to me." This is the choice the GCC will face after this war. If it moves toward deeper dependence on the US to balance Iran, they will become spineless vassals similar to Europe, who have to "kiss Trump's ass..."

Just listened to former CEO of M&S and Tory peer, Stuart Rose, telling @BBCPM that people are going to have to get used to being colder as a result of the energy crisis caused by the US and Israel's illegal war on Iran and by NATO's proxy war in Ukraine. He was on with @ClareMoriarty who is the CEO of @CitizensAdvice. Both agreed that the country couldn't afford to bail people out if energy bills significantly increase. But that is completely false. For a start, if @ofgem did its job properly, electricity bills would be 25% cheaper, and if the govt nationalised the profiteering  energy companies, bills could be slashed still further. Even in the absence of the energy regulator doing its job properly, and the govt failing in its duty to renationalise the utilities, the govt could still make sure than everyone is assisted with their energy bills, because it issues the currency. And contrary to what Stuart Rose asserted the govt wouldn't need to borrow to do so (which is a misnomer anyway because "govt borrowing" is actually the value of govt bonds, AKA gilts, that it sells to provide risk free savings accounts for wealthy elites  banks, foreign investors, pension funds and insurance companies etc).  The only limit on govt spending isn't the availability of money, it's the availability of real resources in the economy such as workers, infrastructure, machinery, materials etc. So short term assistance with energy bills could be made available by the govt, but the better option would be to instruct ofgem to do its job properly, or better still renationalise the energy companies. Furthermore, if the govt stopped facilitating Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people and its illegal war on Iran, British oil tankers could traverse the Strait of Hormuz unimpeded.

@Kathleen_Tyson_ They don't just have the engineers. They also have the strategic partners, Russia and China, and very soon the revenues from the strait of Hormuz, to get it all rebuilt sooner rather than later.

Losing all three steel founderies is undoubtedly a set back for Iran. But Iran has native engineers who can rebuild them. When Israel and its Gulf allies lose their steel plants overnight, as Iran has promised, do they have native engineers within their states who can rebuild?

@ArmchairW They'll have plenty of money and plenty of help from their strategic partners, Russia and China. Maybe not a matter of months, but certainly in less than 2 years.

With all the money they'll be making from running a tollbooth in Hormuz and sky-high oil prices on top of that the Iranians will have any damage to their industrial infrastructure made good in a matter of months.

“News: Rich people paying rich people to tell middle-class people to blame poor people.”

@pati_marins64 Reactive blundering from one hasty mistake to another. It won't end well.

It doesn't work like that. This would need to be exhaustively tested, and even then, its effectiveness is mostly limited to drones. But again, this only proves the complete planning failure that many have been highlighting in this war. Are they really going to send troops to occupy a narrow strip of territory and use these bunkers to withstand Iranian fire coming from the mountains?

@RezaNasri1 Not so much that Israel can feel safe, as that they're then defenceless, and so Israel can attack them at will without any risk of being hit back.

The idea that every sovereign country near Israel must cap its conventional weapons, limit its defensive capabilities, restrict missile and fighter jet ranges, and even dismantle its own military industries—just so Israel can "feel safe"—is completely absurd. Which other nation on Earth demands and receives this kind of privilege? This exceptionalism is especially ridiculous coming from a regime with such an inherently aggressive posture and track record in the region.

Reminder: The Democrats are not an opposition party. Their function is to sell the illusion of democracy and cover up the truth, which is that the US is a dictatorship of capital where every aspect of society from the government to the economy is controlled by and for the rich.

@imetatronink @trenddaytrader Ultimately the US will have no choice but to walk away, but in the immediate term it will double-down and roll the dice. To admit defeat is to acquiesce to the end of the US Empire, and the US Empire will never do that, so escalation it will be until the US hits a physical limit.

@trenddaytrader The USA will have no choice but to walk away and leave the Gulf Sheikdoms and Israel to the mercy of Iranian missiles. Iran is the dominant power in the region, and will remain so into the foreseeable future. The Gulf Sheikdoms will revert to riding camels and sleeping in tents.

Posted in March 2025, this short essay continues to be pertinent:

@timand2037 It was built to be sold for profit, not to be actually used.

USS Gerald Ford. Why did the most expensive warship ever made "run away" in the middle of a war? They are still assessing "the reliability of key systems such as aircraft launch and recovery, radar performance, weapons elevators and the ship’s ability to sustain operations under enemy attack." msn.com/en-in/news/wor…

@tiberiusfiles Orwellian doublethink. It really is a thing.

It’s ludicrous that the West uses the language of international law to sanction the likes of Iran and North Korea and then forgets it exists for Israel and the United States

@CraigMurrayOrg The US has adopted Israeli doctrine. We are seeing the Israelification of the US military - the inevitable moral corrosion due to the alignment of its interests with the Zionist Entity.

So far Israel and the USA have completely destroyed over 600 schools in Iran. Which puts the "targeting mistake" of killing the 170 schoolgirls in perspective.

@Megatron_ron He's weighing nothing. Trump or no Trump, the US will double-down and roll the dice because the alternative is to accept defeat and the end of empire, which is unthinkable.

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Many of Trump’s remaining options in Iran risk heavy casualties with dubious chances of success - CNN President Trump is weighing major escalation options against Iran if diplomacy fails, though none are seen as ideal, CNN reports. Beyond ongoing airstrikes, Pentagon officials are preparing scenarios involving ground forces to seize key targets inside Iran, including islands in the Strait of Hormuz and potentially securing enriched uranium. One option under consideration is capturing Kharg Island, which some White House officials believe could financially cripple the IRGC. Such operations would likely require large troop deployments, carry heavy casualty risks, and still may not succeed in ending the conflict.

@MaryKostakidis The Israelification of the US military. The morally corrosive influence of the Zionist Entity on a declining US Empire.

How the US Became an International Serial Killer by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J S Davies ‘From covert plots to overt “targeted killings,” US policy has evolved into a doctrine of normalized assassination—now reaching a perilous peak in the escalating conflict with Iran. The killing of senior Iranian officials, including potential negotiators, signals a deliberate abandonment of diplomacy in favor of perpetual war. As civilian casualties mount and international law is cast aside, the pattern reveals a system where impunity reigns and accountability vanishes. This trajectory not only destabilizes regions but erodes the global order itself. The question now is stark: can the US abandon violence, or will it drag the world toward irreversible catastrophe?’ countercurrents.org/2026/03/how-th…

@Kathleen_Tyson_ These white elephants were only ever built to be sold for profit, not to be used in any serious peer-level conflict.

The sleeping society lives with the heavy feeling that no change is possible. The ruling elites reinforce that feeling exploiting the sleep of the masses. Everything is possible. The human essence is the pure freedom. We can say yes or no to the God, to State, to everything.